Lightner Moments
by GlassFloors
Summary: A series of self-indulgent vignettes for the Kris/Susie pairing. I'm a sucker for fluff and little character moments and thought I'd have a stab at writing a few myself. I can't guarantee chapters will be long or consistent, just that they're self-contained so you won't be stuck waiting for a climax.
1. Hunger

Kris was a great many things. He was a pint sized virtuoso on the piano to both the delight and dismay of his mother who wished he would play more often. He was shy and withdrawn to anyone but those closest to him, a position that until recently was a title held by his brother alone. He was also apparently creepy to a great deal of the townsfolk, but he expected that of the monsters who didn't talk to him and assumed his borderline silence was the result of a lack of moral fibre.

One thing Kris was not, however, was stupid.

After an attempt or two had been made to make it back to the other world with no success, Kris decided if they couldn't hang out in the Darkner world, he would make a concerted effort to bridge the gap here. He saw most of the other kids walking in together, and having never had a reason to do so before, decided he would give that a go as a start. He had a vague idea where she disappeared to after most school days so one morning he got up early, told his mom he was walking to school, then waited where he knew she'd pass. Honestly, the most difficult part had been convincing Toriel he would be safe on his own.

Turns out she apparently lived on the outskirts of town, hence her general tardiness, and Kris managed to wrangle a better meeting spot for them out of her as they walked in. She did tell him not to come to the house itself though, apparently it was too far out for him to bother trekking so far, and that it was easier to meet halfway.

His problems began at the next step.

The bell rang, transforming the anticipation in the class into movement.

"N-now everyone remember to bring in your homework tomorrow. I can't extend the deadline on this one!" Alphys cried to the quickly retreating crowd. She would if he asked of course. She was the _'cool'_ teacher after all. Thankfully he had already finished it the night before, a thought he relished as he slung his bag onto his back and made his way into the halls.

Kris scoured the corridors looking for his friend who really should not have been this hard to find. Thankfully there was no one wondering where he was to distract him. He was as friendless as Susie was and had sat alone eating his lunch on a bench just far enough away from the field behind the school where everyone else was making the most of the crisp autumn weather. But he had never seen her out there, so he knew where not to look. He was on the cusp of giving up and just asking her the next time he walked in with her before he stopped dead in his tracks.

'I'm an idiot'

He marched to the back of the school to the closet. As per usual, it was locked, prompting a sad sigh, before he turned to the mostly barren classroom on his right and opened the door. A card was midway through being idly tossed across the room to join several others. Some were very distant but clearly the appeal had run out over time as most had fallen on the checkerboard in the middle of the room. Susie turned to glare at the intruder, a scathing remark already on her mind before she caught sight of who it was.

"Oh. Hey"

He nodded in greeting as he closed the door behind him.

"How was, uh...math?" she asked. Kris shrugged his shoulders before settling in next to her, brushing aside the chess pieces she had probably been considering throwing next. He assumed the door they both leaned against that led to the closet was locked as well. She always checked.

"Boring"

"Yeah, that sounds like math" she chuckled, flinging another card. It span in the air and neatly slid underneath the cabinet of game materials. She sighed and reached for another in front of her but was cut off by her stomach groaning. She cursed under her breath before sliding her knees closer to her.

"Hungry?" he asked softly.

"Huh?"

Opening his bag up, he withdrew the tupperware Toriel had set out for him that morning. Ever since he started leaving early she had started getting them ready the night before. He shook it gently in Susie's direction as he tilted his head slightly.

"Nah, I'm fine dude. I uh, ate before you got here"

He didn't buy that for a second, but pretended not to question it as he tucked into his sandwich, but not before putting his slice of butterscotch and cinnamon pie between them and pretending not to watch as Susie's hunger inevitably won out over her pride.

"Well, ok, I guess I forgot about dessert! Heh! Thanks, Kris"

Susie didn't so much eat things as she did inhale them. The slice was gone within seconds. In all the time he had known her, he had never seen her eating lunch with the rest of the class, or eating lunch at all. In fact the only thing he had seen her eat outside of the Darkner world was chalk and he had been around monsters long enough to know that chalk a good meal does not make. That her ragged clothes and unkempt rucksack didn't tip him off sooner was a mistake he did not want to repeat.

Kris was NOT stupid. Thankfully, he was quite the glutton.

Convincing Toriel that he was still quite hungry at school was quite easy. She had taken precautions against his eating habits years back, and even gone so far as to warn some of their friends to watch their foodstuffs. Father Alvin's fruit juice was never safe when he was around and Toriel was beginning to run out of hiding spots for any chocolate she kept around the house. When he told her he was getting hunger pains during lessons she almost doubled his portion sizes overnight. Just to be safe though, he grabbed packs of crisps as snacks in the afternoon and immediately put them in his bag once he got to his room.

"Dude, seriously. Did you steal this from the cafeteria or something?"

He practically had to up end his backpack to get everything he had hoarded out.

"No, my mum gave it to me"

"And she's okay with feeding a kid who isn't hers? Your mom's nice Kris, but not that nice. Hell, no one's THAT nice..."

She trailed off wistfully, running her pointed nails over her ill fitting jacket before one finally snagged in a small hole.

"She doesn't know"

"She doe-" she cut herself short as she gasped loudly before devolving into a full on roar of a laugh. "She doesn't...Your mom actually thinks you're eating all of this!?"

He nodded. Susie's laughter turned into chuckling.

"Holy shit, really? How are you so small?"

Kris shrugged before starting on his crisps.

"Heh. Humans are so weird" she said before doing her new trick of making his lunch vanish.

"Just me I think". Susie paused from her consumption for a second to look over her smaller friend with a furrowed brow.

"You're not weird, you're interesting" she concluded. She said it so matter of factly that Kris turned his head in surprise but Susie was so busy tearing into her next morsel that she didn't even notice.

 _'Interesting?'_ He smiled to himself. He liked the sound of that. He was used to being the subject of concerned stares of strangers where the concern was not meant for him, or the endless fussing and platitudes from his family. This felt different. He relaxed against the closet door.

"You're interesting too"

"Heh, thanks, you weirdo"

He resisted the urge to remind her she had just told him he wasn't weird. He was pretty okay if it was Susie calling him weird.

Their lunch was spent teaching Susie several two-person card games that Asriel had taught him when their mom had grounded them both for troublemaking. He debated trying to teach her chess too but that was too boring even for him. Eventually though, the bell rang out again. They could hear the cries outside as students slowly trudged their way back to class. Susie groaned.

"Ugh, c'mon then. At least you're in my class this time"

Kris gestured to some of the food they hadn't managed to eat as he packed a few items away.

"Huh. Could've sworn we got through all that...Eh, just means we have something to snack on later"

Kris nodded his agreement and opened the door for her. He was unsure as to whether it was his company or the lack of hunger itself that had quelled her usual appetite but he smiled all the same.


	2. Disappointments

Susie kicked the closet door again as Kris stood back. Initially it was just as moral support but as soon as it became apparent that Susie had had quite enough of the dark doors denying their access to their friends, it quickly escalated. He gave it a minute or so before he stopped scouting for approaching teachers and turned his attention back to his distraught friend.

"Fuck this noise!"

Kris grabbed her sleeve and gently pulled her back. Despite being a head smaller than her and having maybe half her muscle mass, she fell back like his touch had drained her.

"I'm so sick of this…"

They had tried the closet, then the door from the spare classroom before Susie angrily declared it had to be the closet door in the main hallway. It just HAD to be. It was how they got in the first time, so why wasn't it letting them in again? He gripped her wrist through the thin jacket.

"Try again later?"

She was silent for an uncomfortably long time. The school bell sounded in the distance and still her head hung low enough that her hair covered her luminous yellow eyes.

"Yeah. The closet isn't going anywhere...and neither am I, damnit!" she shouted, giving the door a final kick for good measure before she turned on her heel and stalked back to class with Kris in hot pursuit.

There was always later.

o - o - o - o - o

The doors did not open after school either. He had guessed as much but didn't want to assume. Expecting the worst but hoping for the best had been a good mantra to start with but it had steadily become an effort in futility. Susie no longer ran to the double doors with hope in her eyes but a desperation that genuinely pained him to see. They hardly spoke on the way home that day.

It wasn't that he didn't miss Ralsei and Lancer either, or any of the Darkners along the way really. What he wouldn't give to hear the amused nihilism of Seam or even Rouxl Kaard's absurd speech patterns. Kris had long ago accepted that he had to make do with what he had. He didn't like it, but he recognised it as a part of life.

"Oh! Welcome home, Kris!"

The sting of the now cold autumn wind disappeared as he crossed the threshold into the Dreemurr house. With the chill beginning to leave his bones, he began to realise how tired he was. Kris lazily dropped his bag by the door, just about ready to collapse from the weight of the days events.

"How was your day?"

"Tiring"

"Oh! I'm sorry to hear that. Are you having problems in class?"

"No"

Say what you want about Toriel but her attention to her children was forefront on her mind. She knew Kris better than most with few possible exceptions. She knew when he felt guilty about something, if he just needed a pick me up and would always make time in her day if he needed anything.

He could list the number of people he felt comfortable properly talking to on one hand, Toriel being one of the chiefest among them. During her divorce from Asgore however, he clung to his brother like a rock and relegated his conversations with them back to one word answers at best if a shrug or a nod wasn't enough. She had been deeply upset by that at the time, but surely enough, the sting eventually lessened and he eventually fell back into speaking terms with both of them.

She knew he was upset and Kris was astute enough to know that she knew. What he did not understand was why she wasn't coddling him. She ambled over to pick up his schoolbag, taking it over to the sink before emptying its contents on the countertop.

The scent of a new pie permeated the house which was odd because he knew for a fact there were still slices of the last one in the fridge. The microwave was on with something he couldn't quite make out spinning inside. He had just finished removing his shoes as Toriel coughed lightly.

"I was just talking to your father before you got back"

He froze. Something was wrong.

"Something has come up and I wanted to check if he would be able to see you if you wanted in the coming days"

Kris's eyes, which had been levelled at just above her waist shot up to meet her concerned gaze, granting her a rare glimpse of the ruby red irises he hid so well.

"Asriel...will not be coming home as soon as we had expected"

o - o - o - o - o

They barely spoke on the way into school the next day. Susie's mood hadn't improved either it seemed and neither had it within them to try to uplift the other. They walked into class and sunk wordlessly into their seats.

The day passed like he was in a dream. Time moved slowly around him as he replayed the memories of last night in his head. Nothing had been enough to quell the ache in his chest. None of her assurances that it wouldn't be much longer at all and that there would be plenty of time to see him made a difference. The coca in the microwave had tasted bitter somehow.

It was not for a serious reason of course. Asriel was not bedridden in some hospital somewhere or in a cell for some ridiculous end of term celebration. There had been an issue with the coursework he had handed in and since it was critical to him getting back in the next year, he preferred to handle it straight away.

 _"A few extra days, that is all"_ Toriel had said.

Kris made do with what he had. It didn't hurt any less for something he thought he had to be yanked away though.

The final bell rang. Science had been particularly monotonous despite Alphys being quite a competent teacher in her field and he was glad it was all over. Thankfully it was being held in his homeroom as well so all he had to do was slide to his usual seat and wait until it rang again. There wasn't much in the way of things to look forward to though. This was meant to be the day his brother would be waiting for him at home. He sighed as students started to trickle in.

'Perhaps it's for the best' he thought sadly to himself. 'Susie seemed just as miserable as me today. I feel like being happy around her would just be rubbing her face in it'

She had managed to get detention at lunch for doing something in one of her early classes so he had barely seen her all day. The extra weight in his backpack reminded him that she wouldn't have eaten as well. He could only imagine the mood she would be in now. If Berdly made another one of his snide comments he would probably be put through a wall.

"Berdly?"

"Here"

Kris chuckled to himself.

"Catti?"

"*Click click* Yeah"

He really deserved it.

"Jockington?"

"Yes!"

He remembered the day after his adventure, they had all bombarded him with question after question about whether or not Susie had killed him. MK had started it.

 _"But seriously dude! Did Susie kill you?! Well, I mean, obviously she didn't but you don't even look roughed up! Even Alphys heard someone hitting the lockers from in here. We had like a moment of silence and everything!"_

To which Berdly felt he just had to comment.

 _"Here lies Kris. Nobody could hear him from inside the locker. But then again, nobody could hear him anyway!"_

 **"Kris?"** Alphys called, somewhat impatiently.

"Yeah, he's here, he's just daydreaming as usual," said Berdly, the smug smirk in his voice as clear in reality as it was in his memory. Kris scowled and flipped him the bird as Alphys ducked her head back down to her laptop.

"MK?"

"Yup!"

Scratch that, if Susie didn't put him through several layers of drywall, he'd do it himself.

"Noelle?"

"Present"

'Could the day just be over already, please?'

"Snowy?"

"Howdy!"

Oh god, he was still doing that.

"Susie?"

"..."

"S-susie?"

He blinked a few times before turning around. Sure enough, the scaly monstrosity that usually loomed behind him was absent. Even if she had gotten after-school detention, they shouldn't have held her up for homeroom. Maybe they weren't convinced she would come back and just kept her after the last lesson? Kris sighed. This day really could not get worse. He had planned to make up for her lack of lunch by eating somewhere outside with her.

"W-well let's hope she's in tomorrow then. I'll have to ask her where she was today" Alphys said, ducking her head down and mumbling the last part. She shuddered quite visibly before coughing and straightening up.

"Temmie?"

"Hoi!"

As if on cue, the bell rang for the final time and everyone took that as their cue to ignore anything Alphys had left to say to them and rush the door. Kris, meanwhile, took so long that even Alphys was ready to go before him and by the time he was out the door, she was already turning the corner to head to the teachers' lounge.

As he reached the main hall's intersection of corridors, he spared a glance to the closet at the back of the school.

It was fair to say he now had pretty mixed feelings about those doors. On the one hand, they had taken him and Susie on a truly wonderful adventure, and forged friendships that he was sure would span the test of time. But on the other, it now teased them with a repeat of that journey every time they walked past it, like the promise of a brief escape from their mundane lives was being snatched away.

Rather like the promise of his brother's return.

His fists clenched in his pockets before he angrily made his way to the back of the school. The sounds of the other kids were distant now, and his shoes clicked loudly against the tiles. If Susie was indeed in detention, they wouldn't let her linger around afterwards and if by a miracle the closet was open, he could always text her to come back if she had left early or something. Kris finally stopped as he reached the double doors and taking a steadying breath before turning the handle.

It opened.

That is to say, he pulled very gently after turning and he did not feel the resistance of the lock. His mouth gaped slightly as he dared not open it any further. His grip slackened, causing the latch to gently slide back into position. His other hand went for his phone but stopped as he touched it in his pocket.

The last time the entire hallway had gone ominously dark before they had seemingly fallen through the floor and the afternoon sun was just as bright now as it had been when he walked over. He frowned as he considered his options. He could text Susie that it was open and hope that the portal or whatever it was still worked, or he could test it himself and risk being stuck in there without her. His hand hovered over the knob for a while before his grip on it tightened again.

'No'

He would not give her any false hope of seeing their friends if he wasn't absolutely certain. He would not experience that only to palm it off onto someone else. Least of all Susie.

'She doesn't deserve that'

Besides, if he did indeed get transported back, with the kingdom at peace now, it would be much easier for him to make his way back to the fountain to inform her. Mind made up, he pulled the double doors open. He slowly let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding.

There were locked cabinets of cleaning products lining the walls, a mop and bucket leaning against one of them. He could see right to the back to where the plastic containers of textiles and materials were kept. He could even see packets of chalk on one of the lower shelves.

But most importantly...he saw a familiar pair of torn jeans peeking out from between two cabinets near the back.

He swallowed something heavy in his throat before making his way over, allowing the doors to fall shut behind him. The floor was carpeted in the supply closet and muffled his steps quite significantly, such that when he finally stood between the long legs of his new friend, she didn't even notice straight away. He would have assumed the noise of the swinging doors helped as well if he wasn't so distracted.

Her head was down and between her hands, tremors gently wracking her frame every few seconds. Her hair, which wasn't great on the best of days, was a mess. Even in the dark, Kris could see the knots in it. She hiccuped lightly before realising someone was standing in front of her.

She didn't even put up her usual angry defensive reaction. There was no insult. There was no baring of teeth. Whoever it was had just caught her in the biggest moment of weakness she had ever experienced and she felt pretty screwed no matter what. Her head just fell back down again, defeated.

Kris knelt down and gently pushed his arms underneath hers and around her back.

"I'm so sorry" he murmured.

He wasn't sure if she realised it was even him before she had enveloped him completely in arms and knees and hair and just….her, but the second he said that…

She bawled.

Silently, he pieced it all together in his head. She had tried the door on the way back to their homeroom and upon discovering it's newest betrayal, couldn't bear facing their classmates in the state she was in. Her loud cries were frequently interrupted by gasping coughs and when she wasn't she muffled whatever else came out into his jumper. For his part, all Kris could do was rub her back in circles like Toriel did for him the night before and repeat "I'm so sorry" over and over and over again. He was sure he was going to get questioned by his mother about the tear stains later on but he really couldn't find it in him to care.

Eventually, she simmered down again.

"G-god damnit…"

She pulled back from him slightly, granting him a view of her bloodshot eyes.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just...Fuck!" She punched one of the containers. There was a moment he thought they were about to be buried in art supplies. "Kris?"

"Yeah?"

"Was it…" she started before looking to him, doubt written into her eyes. "Was it all made up?"

He was going to answer before she immediately followed up, the hand that had punched a container now wrapped around one of the wire shelves so hard her knuckles were shifting colour.

"I miss it so fucking much! It can't be! The one time in my life I make friends and people don't hate me on sight and I can't fucking go back! Someone even looked up to me! ME! Hell, even the enemies I screwed over didn't hate me by the end!"

She heaved in a few deep breaths. For a moment or two, he was concerned her tears would begin again. She looked back down at her hands.

"Kris?...Lancer and Ralsei...The king, that puzzle asshole, Seam, the castles, the fountains...What if it really wasn't real?"

"...It was"

He said it with such confidence that she felt compelled to meet his gaze. For a moment or two, she remembered their stoic leader that she thought was so weird back then, giving orders like some kind of war general.

"It was real because you were there with me. If I was alone, I probably would've called it a weird, vivid hallucination but it happened to both of us...And even if it wasn't and there was just a gas leak or something...It was real because I'm still here, Susie...I'm not going anywhere"

They stared at each other for who knows how long before Susie laughed. It echoed around the tiny room and her teeth practically shone in the dark.

"Damn. I hate it when you're right...Can't make fun of you as easily"

He chuckled with a smile.

"I'm sure you will somehow. C'mon" he whispered, "I'm sure my mom can make us some cocoa". Grabbing her hand, he pulled her out of her hiding place and just like yesterday, despite their physical differences, it really felt like she had no weight to her at all with how pliable she was being.

"Heh...Sure thing, you dork"

She didn't let go of his hand as they left the school. She didn't even shoot him a funny look when their fingers interlaced. But he wasn't entirely sure whose fault that was either.

It wasn't that he didn't want to see Lancer and Ralsei. It wasn't that he didn't miss Asriel.

He had Susie.

And that was enough.


	3. Fight

Truthfully, Susie really didn't mind their lunch sessions despite all evidence to the contrary. She barely spoke to Kris before their trip to the Darkner world and for obvious reasons, he barely said anything to her either, but there was one interaction between them that she would not allow herself to forget.

She could not get it out of her head how he had gone limp in her hand as she all but hoisted him up by the neck and told him in hushed tones that "Quiet people piss me off". She had nothing against quiet people. She was quite quiet herself unless someone made the effort to annoy her or get in her way. Perhaps it just weighed on her mind thanks to the King of Spades unintentionally parroting it word for word like he was trying to kill her with guilt alone.

So no, her lunches spent with her quiet friend didn't bug her in the least. Which is why his question left her slightly confused.

"Do you want to go outside?"

"Nah. Why?"

He shrugged. "Just thought it would be nice for a change"

Susie grimaced before focusing back on the checkers game between them.

"Don't lie to me, man"

"M'not"

"You're hiding something then"

Kris fidgeted as he jumped his piece over two of her own.

"I thought the others might be nicer to you if we showed them you're not a bully anymore"

For some reason, that really stung. The checker she was about to move hung in midair.

"Does it bother you that you're friends with a bully now?" she asked when she realised he was waiting for her to respond. Judging from his hands nervously wringing his jumper, it was a topic he had been trying to find some way of phrasing delicately.

"No," he said almost instantly. Susie huffed and fidgeted with one of the holes in her jeans.

"I told you not to lie to me. I treated you like shit for like, three-quarters of our journey, not to mention how I was to you before then". Kris sat back from the board that had been quite clearly disregarded in favour of the new topic.

"You did"

"And?!"

"I forgave you"

She turned her head up and laughed like it was the funniest thing she had heard.

"Hah! Don't make me laugh! You can't just sweep it all under the rug like I didn-"

"Yes I can", he said resolutely, turning to stare at her. "Why wouldn't I?" Her eyes narrowed threateningly.

"Don't give me that shit!" she yelled accusingly, making Kris flinch and look downward. "God, you sound just like him! You think if I just act nice and play friendly with everyone, that they'll forget everything I've done!? New flash for you Kris. Not everyone is like you and Ralsei!"

"They might do" he managed to murmur out before-

"YOU THINK I DIDN'T TRY!?"

The board was upended as she stood up.

"I was difficult to talk to! To play with! TO BE NEAR! **SO THEY DIDN'T TRY!"**

Susie managed to loom over him without even trying. It suddenly felt very claustrophobic in the tiny room.

He panicked.

"I'm sorry! I-"

 **"GET OUT"**

He did.

She spent minutes just standing and collecting herself by taking huge, shuddering breaths.

Without a target, her rage slowly simmered down. Checkers littered the floor. The room had never exactly been tidy but the huge hole where the board had been suddenly felt stark and lonely.

'They hadn't even tried'

She slumped back against the closet door.

'The only ones that did were…'

o - o - o - o - o

Kris skirted his way around the school, following the path that ran alongside the building. He passed the bench he used to sit on for lunch before finally stopping near the end.

The way the field curved around the building meant that a small section of the path had to follow to accommodate but there was no real need to follow it all the way around. Very few did, leaving a tiny area of tarmac near the end that was even sheltered from the elements by the buildings sloping roof. It wasn't often occupied, was large enough not to be cramped and it was a difficult spot for teachers to adequately patrol so it suited his needs whenever he had wanted to be alone before.

And right now, he needed to be alone.

Susie's mood hadn't exactly improved after her episode in the closet. She had reduced her discontent down to a single punch when the closet refused to budge now but her lack of enthusiasm for violence against the doors that had bait and switched them was more disheartening than it was a sign of improvement. He thought some time when she wasn't leaning against or staring at them might take her mind off it a little.

That wasn't to say his reasons were entirely altruistic though.

Kris had a fear.

While they hung out a lot at school and more than a few times wandered town in the afternoon to the never-ending worry of Toriel, he always held the niggling doubt that one day she would get bored of it. That she'd tire of just hanging out and talking. That she might forsake the friendless kid who played card games with her in an abandoned classroom. Discard the boy that no one else would play with because he had been 'creepy'. Abandon him like his parents had when he didn't meet their expectations of what a good child should be.

He didn't notice the shadows behind him until one of their owners grabbed him by the back of his jumper and hoisted him up. He was twisted around roughly and…

'Oh…'

There were a lot of people standing there. Enough to make the tiny space feel very crowded all of a sudden. He grimaced. He didn't know a lot of them. Those that he did hung on the periphery, close enough to see what was going on but not enough that he could hope they would intervene.

Not that they would anyway.

"Kris," said the one holding him. How did they know his name? Did it matter?

He swallowed something sharp that wasn't there.

"It has come to our attention that you've been spending an awful lot of time with Susie"

The grip around his collar tightened.

"Care to explain?"

The knot in his throat mimicked it.

"I thought not. Doesn't matter anyway"

"H-hey guys" a new voice piped up. MK slipped through the small crowd with practised ease. "C'mon, it's hardly Kris's fault that-"

"Shut up, unless you want me to make your eyes match!"

He would've applauded MK's bravery in other circumstances. Kris highly doubted he had any idea who those accosting him were either. Again, if he was in any other situation, he would probably be impressed that Susie was managing to bully those in the years above her.

"So," he said, returning his attention to Kris as MK dipped back between the crowds and sprinted off. "You're the one Susie finally decides to give a shit about?"

They didn't know him. Which meant they didn't know who his mother was. They must also not have noticed that another teacher had already seen the situation brewing, meaning MK had probably alerted someone after he slipped away. Kris must have smiled at the thought of their reactions when they found out because not only was he pushed hard against the wall, but upwards as well. He could practically feel the fibres of his jumper tearing as he was lifted off the ground.

"Nothing personal kid, but you're gonna wish she didn't"

 **"HEY!"**

'Oh, thank god' he thought as he was dropped back down as his aggressor whirled around in shock.

Kris had a vague recollection of the final moments of their matchup with the Spade King. He remembered the initial strike after Ralsei, the innocent kid, had healed him. He recalled his decision to jump in front of Susie and the futility of it as yet more spades rained down on the both of them. The sucker punch of an uppercut afterwards had sent him flying backwards, weightless before crumpling back on the bridge.

Every inch of his form had been in agony as the king had picked him back up and for a scant few seconds, he silently begged the tyrant to keep monologuing so he wouldn't be tempted to enact his threat against Lancer earlier on him. Or perhaps that would've been the more merciful death? Ruminating on it always turned his stomach. He didn't even notice the spades above him as the king repeated Susie's words back to him one last time. That had been the most painful thing about the whole encounter.

The relief of being dropped unceremoniously back on the bridge was matched only from hearing the voice he heard from behind the monarch. The fury on his behalf had been quite touching really.

 **"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!"**

If she had been furious then, she was absolutely livid now.

Students practically ran out of her path as she made her way to his attacker, who surprisingly hadn't run off.

"Well, well, well..."

'Wait, why was he so smug?'

 **"YOU THINK I WON'T KICK YOUR ASS FOR HIM OR SOMETHING?! BECAUSE I ABSOLUTELY WOULD!"**

"Haha! I believe you. You just can't is all"

"I'LL SHOW YOU CAN'T!"

But before she could so much as raise her fist, Kris had grabbed her arm.

"Hah! No wonder you hang around him, Susie! He's smarter than you! Course, he hangs around you to begin with so not much smarter, but still!"

"The fuck are you talking about?" Susie asked, traces of nervousness entering her tone. He sneered.

"If you fight me, you get expelled! There's even a teacher here to watch it happen!"

Susie suddenly felt like she had just been dropped in a pool of piranhas. Her head spun around in panic to find who he was talking about before suddenly turning as white as her scales allowed her to. Kris already knew who and was similarly petrified.

Alphys.

Of course, it had to have been Alphys on duty that day. Alphys, who had been the subject of Susie's low-level intimidation by way of silence and creating situations that she found it difficult to talk in for who knows how long now. Alphys, who had probably been as freaked out as everyone else to hear Susie raise her voice.

Of course, it had to be the only teacher who might have a bias against her.

"So… Got anything else to say before you leave forever, freak?" he said, almost comically rubbing his fist into a palm.

She grit her teeth as Kris clenched his fists. This was it. What they had all been waiting for.

Her head dipped low in an attempt to regain as much intimidation as she had lost, her clenched eyes that threatened to leak at any moment hidden from the world.

Having to leave school because she defended Kris? She smiled sadly. At least she could say it had been worth it.

"I didn't think s-"

 **CRACK**

Kris was suddenly very aware that his thumb was throbbing. At least the blood on it wasn't his.

"AAAAGH!"

Kris was intimately aware that whenever he walked anywhere with Susie, he was summarily ignored. Even though he was only a head shorter, anything that wasn't at her eye level from when people looked at her and anything below knee height from people trying to get by without catching her ire was a massive blind spot. A fact he had ruthlessly taken advantage of. Apparently, he had been useful bait and nothing more to the guy who was now bent double, clutching his nose. Still...he could easily bounce back…

Kris had a stainless record despite his delinquent past. His pranking with Asriel had been almost legendary to such a small town. None of it had ever really bordered into criminal territory, however. Would he really jeopardise his future school prospects to defend his best friend?

Moving away from Susie, who was just as stunned as everyone else, he delivered a swift kick to his stomach and watched as he let go off his nose to grasp at his stomach as he wheezed on the floor.

Yes. Yes, he would.

"Alright, break it up!"

o - o - o - o - o

The first thing Susie demonstrated to him after Toriel had got done promising him that he would be talking with Father Alvin as soon as she could next get a hold of him, was how to correctly throw a punch...After she was done laughing at how stupid he had been.

Putting your thumb in the middle of your fist was apparently a very bad idea. As in, if he had any more strength behind it, he could have broken it. Thankfully the angle he had come from and the fact that there had been no effort to block, dodge or even stagger it had done most of the damage for him.

They had both decided to spend the afternoon at the diner as soon as Kris had been able to give his mother the slip. Toriel's fury had only been curtailed by the fact that it had been her son who had technically instigated the violence, despite MK's testimony that he had probably felt pretty threatened. After making sure his thumb was okay and that he was well and truly aware of how much trouble he was in while simultaneously praising him for standing up for himself, she let him go.

Susie was sat almost around him in one of the booths as she inspected the bandaging.

"God, they never wrap these things properly"

Inspected and then corrected.

He really couldn't complain. When it was rewrapped, it felt much more secure, and it didn't feel like it was cutting off his blood flow anymore. Susie admired her work before her smile fell. She coughed awkwardly.

"H-hey Kris"

"Hmm?" He looked up at her to find her unable to meet his gaze.

"Thanks..."

"It's okay"

"No I mean…" she turned, seemingly forcing herself to face him. "For everything"

"You would've done the same for me"

"Heh. You know, I almost did" she chuckled before the comfortable silence fell back between them. Kris felt a fool for thinking she wasn't satisfied with this sort of exchange. The warm smile across the maw that had once terrified him spoke of her unwillingness to be anywhere else. Their comfortable silence was disrupted as Kris guiltily fiddled with his bandaging before speaking.

"I'm sorry about lunch. I really thought you'd be happier if we tried to make some more friends". She sighed tiredly.

"L-look. I appreciate it dude but...I don't care about them! They made their minds up about me ages ago! You're the only one who doesn't want me kicked out of this piece of shit school...You're the only one I care about..." she said, draping an arm over his shoulder.

"That makes two of us," he said, rolling his uninjured thumb over the hand attached to it fondly.

His other thumb still ached. Thank god it was nearly the weekend. Even seeing Father Alvin meant he might be able to pinch some sick fruit juice again.


	4. Assurances

Kris's return to school the following day was filled with noticeable differences from the norm. For a start, his mother had made it crystal clear that she would not be so lenient if yesterday sparked a trend with his behaviour. His heavily bandaged thumb hung awkwardly out of his pocket and occasionally throbbed in the chilly morning air.

But the most obvious change was that he was far less ignored than he had been.

For someone who spent very little time talking, Kris had been used to listening a lot instead, which meant he often picked up on a lot of the things said about him behind his back and sometimes right in front of him like he wasn't even there. The sudden absence of sound threw him a little as he walked between classes.

He would've chalked it up to walking with Susie as he had been doing for several days now, following in the shadow she cast like a lost puppy. They often didn't speak until they reached the abandoned classroom after all, as both of them seemed much more comfortable and open only speaking with each other. Thus, they noticed their peers falling silent around them as they walked the halls even more than they otherwise would.

The reason he noticed now was that he was alone.

His journey to their usual lunch spot was fraught with students moving out of his way as he approached, a decency he was not used to in the slightest. Before Susie, he had to be as careful as MK was at watching their own personal space, lest someone move into it without noticing him before knocking him over.

Were they afraid of him now? It seemed unlikely that it was because of him directly. He had only sucker punched and winded someone, neither of which were particularly difficult to pull off. It was much more likely that, now they knew Susie would stand up for Kris, they were trying to watch themselves around him.

The fact that they were speaking in hushed tones did not deter Kris at all from trying to listen in on them as usual.

Just as he was approaching the corridor that held the traitorous closet, he managed to catch something particularly intriguing as he rounded a corner. Both voices were familiar to him so he decided that, as soon as he had disappeared from their view, he turned and listened as intently he could without looking too suspicious.

One was a voice he didn't actually mind hearing. A soft and melodic tone that belonged to an old friend and infrequent tormentee of his, Noelle Holiday. Kris and his dad occasionally visited her father in the hospital to this day and they were good friends of their family. Heck, Rudolph was practically considered a friend to the entire town. He'd never quite forget the look on her face when he had grabbed her feet from under her bed that one time. Her father certainly seemed adamant to make sure he didn't at least.

The other…

To be fair to Berdly, he hadn't always been awful. In fact, he was only ever really awful to Kris. He presumed it had something to do with how close Noelle had once been to him before they slowly drifted apart. Even to this day, like MK, she was friendly enough to say hello and lend him pencils every now and again. There was a point that Berdly had gotten noticeably more antagonistic towards him and, strangely enough, it coincided almost exactly with when he started sitting closer to Noelle in classes.

"I bet he's going to see _her_ again"

"Hmm? Oh, Kris? If you're talking about Susie then probably. They've been quite close recently"

"Well, let's see how long that lasts after she blitzes his grade on the project"

'Shit'. He really needed to get that done soon actually.

"Berdly, c'mon!" she admonished. "It's nice that Susie has a friend now. Can't you be happy for them?"

"Little bit more than friends, I'd say" he snarked back cheekily.

Noelle probably said something quite curt while attempting to be kind back to him, and Berdly most likely waved her off while trying to make himself look better in comparison in a way that could not be more obvious if he wrote the words "DATE ME" on the front of their project folder.

Kris wasn't listening anymore. There was a high pitched whistling sound in his head as he stared into the middle distance.

It wasn't that Berdly had loosely insinuated that he and Susie were….dating.

It was that as soon as the words had left his beak, Kris's mind had pulled a fast one by filling his thoughts with image after image of scandalous, unthinkable, friendship-destroying…

...really quite pleasant scenarios.

'Oh no'

He leant against the wall for support.

'Oh no'

Kris had never had a crush before. The only time he had even flirted with such an idea was when he and Noelle were quite young and their parents had all agreed (In front of them no less) that they were very cute together. Back then, like right now, Kris's brain had pulled a 'what if' and he found himself blushing and refusing to play with her for the rest of the day out of embarrassment. The adults had found it all highly amusing of course.

His face was aflame as he realised not only was this quite a large problem but also that it was something he would have to deal with in the very immediate future.

The classroom was at the end of the hall.

She was waiting for him inside.

Her.

o - o - o - o - o

"You took your time"

He stammered a response as he closed the door.

"S-sorry". She snorted lightly.

"Relax, dork. I'm just messing with ya. What have you got today?"

"Usual," he said, passing his bag to her and watching as she tipped it open.

"Sweet!" she shouted, a familiar tupperware in her hands. "Your mom makes the best pies, Kris!"

He chuckled. "I know"

"So how was P.E?"

"Huh?"

She took a break from peeling the lid off the flaky treasure to peer through her dense nest of hair at him. "Didn't you just have P.E? Your face is all red"

"Oh! Yeah. Didn't hear you. It was fine"

He only managed to grow redder as she took note of his flushed face but thankfully she seemed far too preoccupied with the pie to read into it.

Susie usually finished her part of their lunch much faster than Kris did but for some reason, she really savoured the slices of pie he brought. Actually, come to think of it, she usually took her time with anything sweet he happened to bring with him.

They passed the time as usual with Kris desperately trying not to think too hard about his revelation in the hall before he suddenly remembered his OTHER revelation in the hall.

"Oh! Susie?"

"Mmm?"

"I just remembered, we still need to do that project for Alphys"

"Ah, crud. When's it due in?" she asked.

"Monday"

Her head whipped around.

"What?!" She stood up, sending a few pawns skidding across the floor from beneath her. "Crap! We haven't even started!"

He presumed she was going for his bag when she reached over but he soon found himself tucked under her arm. Her sudden act caused him to flail madly in her grip for a second or two before he instinctively realised that he really had no chance of escaping her hold. The hand holding his chest was remarkably careful not to prick him with the sharp ends of her fingers.

"W-woah!"

"C'mon, if we start now we can at least try and get a passing grade!"

"Susie!"

"What?"

"I've already started it"

She looked almost affronted. "Y-you've...?"

"Yeah, I was just gonna ask if you could help me with the rest"

From his new position nestled comfortably in the crook of her arm, he could see her eyes filled with concern. She shifted her gaze away from him.

"Kris?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't do it by yourself because-"

He cut her off at the pass.

"No. Of course not". She didn't seem very convinced. "Susie, c'mon. You know I didn't think you'd want me to do it all by myself"

Kris hung there like a dead body in the water as she silently contemplated what he was asking. Frowning, he pressed his hand against the underside of the one holding him up, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"...Certainly looked like it" she mumbled a little cantankerously. He did note that she playfully rolled her eyes a little at him.

"I just started it and forgot it even existed" he joked. "I mean really, do I look like a nerd to you?"

That, apparently, broke the spell. She started laughing nervously before it reached her usual loud, rasping laugh. Pressed against her side as he was, he could feel it rippling through her chest.

"You trying to tell me you're not smart now?"

Kris let out a gasping sort of laugh himself. "Are you kidding? I'm...I dunno what kind of smart I am but it isn't book smart"

"You're no Nerdly, that's for sure"

He snorted into a hand.

Susie was still quite highly strung about her previous bullying towards him. He didn't understand it. It had been more recent, sure, but she had done much worse to everyone else to be honest. He hadn't been around to see it but she had apparently put MK in a trash bin once and there had been an incident with the aforementioned nerd bird and some balloons filled with paint.

Honestly, the worst thing she had really done was the threat of imminent face eating and looking back on it without the shock of being shoved against a locker, the threat had no weight to it at all. She wasn't stupid and he knew that. Being expelled and being expelled plus severe jail time were not equals in anyone's world.

In fact, with time diluting his initial reaction to it, all he could really remember was being absurdly close to her mouth and-

"Y-you can put me down now by the way"

"Huh? O-oh right!"

He suddenly had a need to not be being groped bodily by her.

o - o - o - o - o

Introducing Susie to Toriel after the supply closets deceit had been...Well, it had been something.

Toriel knew Susie by reputation of course. Practically everyone in the school did but she was in charge of the younger classes and wasn't so involved with anyone their age besides Kris himself. She only vaguely remembered her as the shy, purple, friendless little girl who played on her own. Toriel had tried a great number of times to get her involved with the rest of the class but after a while it was clear they just would not play ball. Eventually, she settled with occasionally sacrificing a lunch break to entertain the poor girl herself. She wasn't so sure when her abrupt personality shift had taken place but she had been saddened by the news nonetheless.

"Kris!" she yelped as she heard the door open cautiously, sleeves rolled up as she scrubbed furiously at a plate.

"Hi, mom"

"Where on earth have you been!?" She turned to the fridge to grab a kitchen towel and began drying her hands off. "I was this close to calling you! I have been worried si-" she turned to face him and all conversational momentum stopped.

Any misgivings she may have had about the new Susie were tossed out the window as she followed Kris in. She was tentatively given a wave.

"Hello, Miss Tori-Uh...Miss Dreemurr…"

The Susie that Alphys had warned her about was a huge intimidating figure, who barely spoke and when she did, conveyed subtle hints of intimidation to both students and staff alike. She could certainly see where some of that had come from. She occasionally saw her in the corridors and even from a distance, Toriel could tell that she almost matched her own height. Now that she was much closer and bathed in the warm light of the house, she could also see she wasn't exactly a beanpole like Asriel had been either.

But still, no matter how intimidating she or anyone else thought she was, Kris was still in front of her acting as a barrier of sorts between her and the girl. Not that he needed to be there, of course. Toriel could put two and two together. A new friend at school? More lunch than usual? The dark patch in his jumper?

She smiled warmly.

"Hello to you too, Susie. Why don't you both come in? I will put some cocoa on"

o - o - o - o - o

"Oh, Susie!" she exclaimed, "You brought Kris home on time for once!"

"Moooom!"

"Hey, Miss Dreemurr" Susie said, ignoring Kris elbowing her in the side.

"What brings the both of you back so soon?"

"We have a project to do", Kris said in as he removed his shoes, his injured thumb slowing him down slightly.

"Well, I am glad to see you are keeping him on the straight and narrow" Susie heard a dull thud behind her as Toriel tittered behind a finely furred hand.

"Moooooooooooooom!"

She kicked her own shoes off next to his. "Is it cool if I stay over, by the way?"

Toriel almost dropped the pan she was holding. He had gone from having a new friend to having them over for sleepovers? Frankly, she could not have been more proud.

"Of course you can!

"Thanks"

"Now, both of you have a seat at the table. Dinner is almost finished, and as long as you get there before Kris, I am sure there will be enough to go around"

"Oh my god, you're worse than Asriel!"

o - o - o - o - o

Kris crossed the metal threshold strip into his shared room and promptly fell onto his bed from the weight of the food they had both been given. Even Susie, who he had never seen willingly turn down food, looked particularly sated as she slumped down next to him. Honestly, it was as though Toriel permanently planned to be hosting more people than she had over.

Although with Kris's appetite, one could hardly blame her.

"So", Kris started, pulling over the bag he had practically dragged in with him, "do you want to start this now or tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, please. I need time to digest, dude". He let it tumble off the bed with a push.

"Agreed"

The sound of insects chittering constantly outside was an autumn classic and one that set his mind at ease. Kris could feel his eyelids threatening to dip every time he closed them, the warmth of the house and the pleasant weight of a full stomach lulling him into a very contented state. Usually, the knowledge of an impending weekend and the lack of an early start meant he would be well on his way to sleeping by now. The only reason he wasn't indulging was that he had a guest. Toriel did not raise bad hosts.

Susie, meanwhile, was too busy questioning a few things to fall prey to sleep.

She had been round to Kris's house a few times now which was a feat in and of itself considering she had honestly expected the first to be the last. Her friend's mother was a teacher at their school, she HAD to know who she was and everything she had done.

Yet every time she stepped into the house, she had been greeted with food, company and a curious sense of belonging that she couldn't quite shake. There was no doubt that her own home did not compare to Kris's, but that was no reason for her chest to tighten as it did when he had led her in by the hand the first time, nor any of the following.

Sighing to herself, she took a look around the room again. When she had first seen it, she had been quite upset with herself at how she'd personified Kris in her mind before they'd become friends.

He had initially seemed aloof and distant to basically everyone. Even those she knew he at least got along with didn't actively hang out with him. At first, she had mistakenly thought he considered himself too good for everyone at the school. Adopted into a home of boss monsters, having a universally beloved and protective older sibling who involved him in everything while being the only human in an entire town of monsters and living in a pretty cushy house.

She had loathed him on sight.

Since she sat behind him in homeroom, she often took great pleasure in messing with him before the days start and end. She bumped into him as they got up, pelted him mercilessly with whatever she had to hand and on the rare occasion she arrived before him she pulled the chair out from under him as he went to sit down. Thankfully, he had been so quiet and mild mannered that it was kept to a minimum outside of those instances. She could've said the same of Asriel of course but at least he had earned his popularity. Kris had just been given it, no strings attached.

It took seeing his room to realise how wrong she'd been.

Kris's side of the room was stark and barren compared to the memorabilia-laden shelves of Asriel's side. Some of the photos on his side and even down the hall had Kris within them but they all made him look uncomfortable somehow, like he had been photoshopped in. Asriel's trophies practically glimmered in the low light, and Susie had to wonder how she would have the wherewithal to even get out of bed in the morning if a more socially accepted and loved version of themselves was sleeping just across from them.

Right now though, she was newly fixated on the only memento Kris had to his name.

Above his bed, still sparkling very slightly, was the black ball of junk he had found in his pocket after their trip to the dark world. He had shown it to her a few days after their return while she was wrapped up in wondering how to get back there, searching for any clues that might help. It was slightly sticky to the touch, smelling vaguely of marshmallow and seemed unnaturally brittle, like the slightest fall would cause it to shatter.

For her, it was the only remnant of their time together in the Darkner world. It was a tiny ball of black plastic, stickers and god knows what else…

And now it proudly sat front and centre on his shelf like it easily compared to the glimmer of gold across the room.

The tightness returned, and with it, an old worry of hers blossomed into thought.

She nudged him gently, "Hey, Kris?"

"Mmm, yeah?"

"What are you gonna do when you leave school?"

He straightened up a little. "Where's this coming from?"

"Just...all this thinking about the project, I guess. College isn't that far away anymore"

He nodded, more to himself than to her.

"I hadn't really thought about it much" he admitted. "I think mom wants me to go to university like my brother…"

"...Oh, yeah?" she prompted, a slight tremor to her voice.

"But, I don't think I'm smart enough for it. Not really"

"Hah! You and me both!" she laughed, slinging an arm around his shoulder. He smiled up at her before returning her question.

"What about you?"

"Huh? Oh, um" she stammered. "I really don't know. If you don't think you're smart enough to get accepted then I have no chance really". Susie could feel his hand wrap around her own comfortingly as she tried to laugh that off as well. Instead, she let out a frustrated sigh before returning the grasp. "Thanks, man, but we both know that's true"

"Well…I know something will turn up for you"

There he went again with that tone. That self-assurance that everything would turn out okay...

"Dude. Don't" she warned.

She let out a shaky breath as Kris interrupted her. "Susie-"

...When she knew it wouldn't.

"NO!" she cried, just barely restraining her voice so Toriel didn't come running. "You don't know what's going to happen! But I do! I'm gonna wind up in some bullshit, dead-end job with shit pay just lik-"

"Susie!"

"What?"

"Back in the closet...You remember when I said I wouldn't leave?"

She almost choked on something.

"If you're stuck in some job that you hate then you'd better believe I'm gonna be right there with you"

It didn't make sense to her. It hadn't back then either but it had made her feel better, albeit temporarily. Kris may not have had amazing grades but he didn't have misdemeanours to drag him down. He had a family to help him reach for things that she couldn't even hope to get to.

She didn't understand why he would throw that away.

She couldn't.

"...Why?"

Kris faltered, his confidence wavering slightly.

He suddenly knew what the next words had to be.

She towered over him even as she leant defeated against the wall beside him. His voice refused to work as her mouth hung slightly ajar. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time all over again. Hell, he was probably even closer than before.

Kris decided that was fine. It worked to his advantage actually.

Leaning up, he gently pressed his lips to hers.

Kris had always been just fine without words anyway.

"?!"

Susie spluttered but said nothing as he fell back against the wall. The sounds of the outside world became more and more prominent despite his thundering heart as Kris's confidence plummeted. He shuddered with a terrified energy, hot and cold chills running through him.

"Kris"

He nodded, twitching slightly.

"If you actually meant that…"

Her fingers had curled into fists at her side, shaking very slightly. He grimaced.

"D-do it again"

Thinking he had somehow misheard, he spun his head to look back up at her. Aside from the occasional twitch, she hadn't moved a muscle. The shadow of her hair covered her eyes like a thick fog once more but being as close as was already he could see how tightly they were clenched.

Waiting.

Heart still roaring in his ears, he adjusted himself before craning up to meet her again.

He held firm against her for longer this time as if he was trying to prove a point, his motions slower. More deliberate. It was only cut short as her hands finally shifted, reaching up to grab his shoulders and ever so gently disconnecting them.

Kris shot her a nervous smile as her eyes became visible once again.

He had about half a second to ready himself after she returned it.

She crashed into him in typical Susie fashion before he was practically assaulted. Her lips, which had remained statuesque in both his prior attempts, moved dynamically against his own. Excitement peaked every now and again as he felt a tiny spike of something hard and unyielding brush against his lip. He would've said it was a struggle to keep up but they were both as inexperienced as the other and all he could do to anchor himself was return her fevered grasp by losing his hands in her thick hair. All in all, it was a complete mess of a kiss.

He could not have been happier.

Eventually, the need to breathe won out. Kris fell back to the sheets, panting as he stared slack-jawed up at the ceiling before he felt her grip once again. Before he could even attempt to use the voice was so sure had abandoned him in his time of need to ask for a second to recuperate, she had already surprised him by simply bringing him closer to her chest. He wondered if it was so he wouldn't notice exactly how red she had gotten.

He had.

She looked even pinker than when she entered the dark world.

"So...are we?"

"I think so"

"...Good"

"Yeah"

It was too early for the dreaded L word. His throat closing earlier was a clear testament to that and neither was sure what to say now that they were so entrenched into a situation they had gotten into almost entirely by accident. Susie managed it after a tense pause.

"You'd better mean it though. Don't think I won't still deck you just because of...this"

Kris laughed. Even during a tender moment like this, there had to be the threat of violence. It wouldn't have been Susie if there wasn't. She couldn't help saying the last word with a staggering level of care though.

"You know I do. Besides" he continued, a playful smile tugging at his lip. "If I find another way back to the Dark world, Lancer would be awfully upset if I didn't have you along with me"

"Heh. Toothpaste boy might actually get mad if I don't bring you back with me too"

He chuckled as she pulled him in even closer.

At the end of the day, one thing was certain as they shared in their G-rated afterglow.

"So...Is that offer to eat my face still available?"

Kris would be abusing his right to fluster her with flirting at every given opportunity.

o - o - o - o - o

The door opened slightly, a crack of light cascading onto Asriel's side of the room.

"Kris?..."

No response. The door didn't so much as squeak as she opened it another inch so she could poke her head around.

"Honey? Is everything-"

She had to stop herself from gasping, lest she wake the pair of them.

Susie was curled up around Kris like a giant cat, one large hand wrapped up in the yellow band of his jumper. There was a small rustle of the covers as Kris leaned into the crook of her neck unconsciously from his mother's disturbance.

Toriel closed the door and tried not to skip to her own bedroom.


	5. Consolation

Despite the 'distractions' over the weekend, they managed to get quite a lot of work done on their project. Kris had indeed started a sizeable chunk of it but Susie had definitely left her mark in their work by the end for Alphys to gawk at disbelievingly. Admittedly he did do most of the heavy lifting with the boring research, until it came time to do any actual heavy lifting, on account of his thumb.

Heavy lifting in this scenario being holding a pencil.

She shook her head in disbelief from her seat at the back of the class. He had hardly had to do any work all day after all the teachers realised his left-hand writing was basically illegible and they didn't have the budget for any typing substitutes. After all, the only student who might need one on the regular was so phenomenally good at writing with his feet that they hadn't bothered to splash out.

' _Heh, lucky little shit'_ , she thought to herself without the venom her jealousy usually instilled in her.

Of course, all the teachers were probably giving him a pass on account of his mother. His grades certainly weren't perfect but the homework was at least usually done, if up to questionable standards sometimes. The fact that he had shown up to the lessons at all was good enough in their eyes. He could've wrapped another finger around it instead of the thumb to get by but somehow she got the impression he was playing it up a little bit.

She knew this because he had already tried to get her to kiss it better more than once.

' _Cocky, too'_ , she chuckled.

Susie stared at the back of the offending human's head as Alphys cycled through the register as usual. His attempts to fluster her were sparse enough that whenever they happened she was amiable enough to go along with whatever he had planned. She wasn't secretly enjoying it, after all, that would be ridiculous.

Plausible deniability aside, she was also pretty pleased that she didn't even have to ask him to curb that behaviour around other people. Possibly as a consequence of his prior social norms, that he recognised that Susie really wasn't one for public affections or a combination thereof, Kris's demeanour towards her was the same as it always was.

As far as their classmates were concerned, they were friends...somehow.

It was a product of their adventure that she was still very fond of. For years, students had shunned her for varying reasons. Be it her tattered clothes, her defensive attitude, her rasping voice or any other small thing only a child would have the gall to dislike her for. Whatever the reason, only the result had mattered to Susie as she grew up alone.

Her head dipped as her surroundings faded into obscurity.

For as long as she could remember, having a friend had been her primary goal. As soon as she realised that goal was unattainable, her mean streak had set in. Then the students really had a reason to shun her.

Being the bully hadn't been what she would have called 'fun' but at least she was given back some measure of control in her life. She couldn't force people to like her so it didn't solve her original problem but it fixed other things. It stopped them making fun of her for a start. Lunch became easier to get and even the school staff stopped asking their probing questions that she really didn't want to answer.

She was snapped out of her memories by Kris who was tapping her arm lightly.

"Huh?"

"It's home time," he said with a smile and a soft laugh, gesturing to the clock past the retreating students. She blinked wearily before she looked back at Kris.

"Why didn't Alphys call my name?"

Kris could only laugh harder. "She did. You were really out of it"

Her claws trailed through her messy hair. "Heh, guess so"

o - o - o - o - o

Kris ran home.

Leaves kicked up behind him as he sped down the country paths like he was tailed by fire. They dominated the sidewalks and grassland despite the locals best efforts to curb their influence. Kris certainly wasn't helping as he kicked up miniature fireballs of leaf piles that scattered in the breeze like bonfire embers.

Susie had parted with him some ways back and he had respectfully walked a little while before the run had begun. He didn't want her to think she had been holding him back or anything. He valued their time together more than anything right now.

With one possible exception.

His mother's large, red van sat in the driveway, a sometimes painful reminder that their family had once been much larger than it was currently. It had always seemed massive to him, even as he grew older in it.

It seemed doubly so as he was finally able to see past it to what was tucked into its shadow in the early afternoon light. His eyes widened as his pace doubled.

Sprinting now, he ran to the door, throwing it open and closed with a huge bang that rattled the windows. He was sure he caught something about the loud noise or shoes from his mother but he didn't hear her as he leapt at the other imposing figure that had turned around in surprise.

"Azzy!"

"K-Kris! Howdy! How are you?!"

Fuzzy arms wrapped around him in response as he laughed into his brother's neck fur.

"Better"

o - o - o - o - o

"How was university? What's it like?"

"Haha! Stress, Kris. It's all stress. The courses are stressful, the buildings are made of stress and I eat stress for breakfast, lunch and dinner!"

Kris had no trouble believing him as he went over everything he had been up to. His acting course was overburdened with dramatic productions and backstage preparations and lighting displays. Not to mention all the new friends he apparently had and the many photos he had brought with him of his dorm room and roommates going on nights out and having parties. He was ecstatic as he regaled them both with stories, even as Toriel looked at him with mock disapproval and nostalgia from across the room.

And yet still...

He had passed his first year with flying colours.

Obviously.

Kris hadn't doubted for a second when he heard why he was staying at university a few extra days that his return would be announced with the same fanfare as usual. There would be no morose undertones at the dinner tonight as he struggled to explain why he would be working with Burgerpants for the foreseeable future.

He even seemed to have bulked up a tad as well.

Before he had left he was what his mother like to affectionately term, a 'sonflower'. A groan-inducing combination of Toriel's love of punnery along with his stick-thin body and beaming smile. He was no Susie by any stretch of the imagination but he at least had some definition to his figure now.

His physique was one of the first things his mother had pointed out to Kris, making the charismatic goat monster go all kinds of pink.

"Moooooooom!"

Aside from the occasional light-hearted jab, Toriel mostly minded the food, humming a small tune in place of the radio.

Kris barely noticed, enraptured as he was by his brother's university stories. He was sure he'd get to hear all the juicier bits later in their room that would make Toriel faint if she had heard them. The parties were one thing but he knew Asriel was holding back on what he'd really been up to.

Kris had been informed instantly but he wasn't sure if Toriel had ever even been told about his first kiss being stolen by Bratty.

She was still alive after all.

"But, where are my manners? Kris, how have YOU been?" Asriel asked, his arm slung over the chair he was perched on.

Kris's smile only grew wider as he realised that for the first time, he finally had something to tell him. In his youth, he had pestered Asriel to show him various things he had found or just to ask him questions that he would rather not go to his parents with. Aside from that, anything noteworthy he did was a direct result of tailing his older brother.

Secretly, he was always rather ashamed that anything interesting about him was because of Asriel. He was tremendously proud of him, of course, so whenever a new trophy had made its way to his shelf or he was invited to another awards evening, Kris clapped along with the rest of them. When his friends smiled at him when he was brought along, he knew it was all out of pity because Asriel did the same thing, and he was fine with that because he only ever did it with honest intentions.

But not today.

Susie. He could tell Asriel all about Susie.

Part of the reason he was so excited was that Asriel was the only one who already knew about her. He was the only one Kris had unloaded to when Susie would mess with him in class or trip him discreetly in the halls. He knew he would've tried to threaten her in his defence if he pushed him to though. He was a very good big brother in that regard, especially since he abhorred violence.

He didn't ask for several reasons, but there was one that both he and Asriel agreed on without having to ask.

Susie would've mopped the floor with him.

Figuratively, of course. Susie rarely cleaned anything.

But now?...

Today was the day his brother would truly be proud of him.

If only the doorbell hadn't rung.

Kris squinted in confusion. First, at his brother, who shrugged and then at Toriel, who had stopped humming and was leaning back against the counter with a pained grimace. She adopted a more mollified expression once she saw his gaze as Asriel went to open the door, letting out a deep breath as a sigh just as Asriel let one out in a gasp.

"Dad!"

o - o - o - o - o

It had been going rather well, all things considered.

Asriel had received one of his father's legendary hugs despite their almost similar size. Asgore had even held him just shy of the door so as not to muddy Toriel's floor. Kris meanwhile, had taken a kneeling down pat on the back from his well-meaning goat dad. Evidently, he was really trying his best not to step on anyone's toes tonight.

"Howdy, Toriel. These are for you" he had said, holding another bunch of pristine flowers to her as she walked over. The same beautiful variety of colours he had seen decorating the trash can so often.

"Thank you, Asgore"

"Would you mind if I sat down?"

"No". She took the flowers from him before turning sharply to the kitchen. He could hear their wrappings crinkling harshly under her grip. "Kris? Asriel? Why don't you both take seats as well. I will bring the last of dinner over shortly"

He felt a hand on his back directing him to the table as Asriel shot him a sympathetic smile. Asgore took the seat closest to the door and Asriel scooched past him to take one adjacent to the wall. It was nice that they were tolerating each other for their sake but both brothers could already feel the tension already rising. Without his mother's humming, all he could hear now was their clock ticking and the chairs against the wood floor of the kitchen as Asgore pondered over what to say. Toriel took her place at the other end of the table from her ex-husband as Kris slid into the one opposite his brother.

"I expect it must be nice to have Asriel back, right Tori?" He asked once they had said grace as per Toriel's request. She flinched. Asgore, delicately cutting up a piece of turkey, didn't catch it. "Even if it means your cupboards might be a tad empty while he's home!"

"Do not call me that"

Kris looked further down as Asgore's head snapped to attention as he realised his error.

"Ah...I'm sorry"

"But, yes. It is nice to see you again, Asriel" she continued, almost ignoring his apology. The smile she offered him barely reached her eyes.

Asriel shifted in his seat. "Thanks, mom. It's good to be back"

"And Kris!" Asgore said, trying his hand at conversation again. "How are things going at school?"

Kris suddenly had the revelation that, aside from Susie, things had not been all that well at school for him. Missing an entire day's lessons and the fight sprang to his mind. He was briefly surprised he hadn't been informed but realised Toriel had probably kept it from him. At any rate, with the air thick in the room and everyone looking at him expectantly, he found his throat seizing up once again. It had been so long he was almost unused to the sensation. His head hung even lower as he mumbled something.

Asgore seemed to take the hint for once. "Well, I just want you to know, you can always tell your old dad"

"If Kris does not wish to speak of it, do not force him"

"Of course, I was just...Of course"

The soft clink of cutlery on china returned to the forefront. Kris's usual appetite had abandoned him as he poked aimlessly at his food. Even Asriel, who was the only one who could ever really rival him in the house, was sitting silently. Thankfully, he decided to speak, apparently aware he was the only one who could at this point.

"I think your cooking's gotten better mom!" he said, helping himself to a particularly large mouthful to embellish his point.

"Thank you, dear" she gushed, her mood leaving her for a moment at the praise. Asgore's smiled timidly returned.

"I must agree, this is a wonderful spread! It must be a nice change from university food, right Asriel?"

"Haha, true. It's nice not eating easy to make stuff all the time!"

Asgore searched for the right thing to continue with.

"I remember my days at university. Even with all the good friends I had, it's always nice to eat a meal as a family again"

That, apparently, had not been it.

Toriel's face grew dark like she was being backlit somehow. "Asgore, this is not a family anymore, you are here as a guest"

"I didn't mean it like that Tori, I ju-" he stammered.

"I told you not to call me that!" she yelled back at him.

"Mom, I'm sure he didn't-"

"Please, do not get involved with this, my son"

"Toriel, I was only trying to say-"

"I am tired of hearing what you 'try to say' when what you are actually saying is so plainly obvious!"

"Kris, wait!"

At the first sign of Toriel's heightened voice, Kris had slid from his chair and moved for the front door. He did not run initially. He just wanted to be away from the fight or at least to not be stuck literally in the middle but as her voice abruptly raised in intensity, he broke into a desperate dash as he had passed the threshold. Mediating, Asriel hadn't noticed immediately and with his back to the wall and stuck behind Asgore, by the time he had reached the door, Kris had vanished.

o - o - o - o - o

Susie hadn't gone home that day.

When Kris had left, she figured she would rather hang around the town instead. Her usual absences would've been noted and probably questioned and she honestly couldn't be bothered to deal with that right now. The last thing her father could be called was attentive but even he would've picked up her reappearance.

Her usual activities were proving irredeemably boring now though. Wandering around the town without Kris's company made it feel emptier than it was. Finding escapism without friends was difficult but she had done it before.

Hadn't she? It felt like a lifetime ago.

Leaning against the corner of an apartment complex, she kicked a pebble and watched as it spun into the street, landing near Undyne's car. It put to mind the time she had kicked MK's ball at it and prompted a thorough handball trashing for them by the insane fish lady. Her old 'hobby' of bullying, if it could be called that, barely filled any time before and was mostly done if the opportunity presented itself. She had never actively sought people out for it.

But she didn't do that anymore.

None of them had really noticed anyway. They were all just praying it wouldn't be them on the line whenever they saw her. It was mostly just a byproduct of her hanging around with Kris during and after school. She very rarely had any time left over after that. But there was another equally as good, if not better, reason. Judging by the fight Kris had gotten into instead of her, it was very clear that she had not one, but two easy to exploit weaknesses now.

As usual, the end result was all that Susie cared about, and she wasn't about to let Kris take the fall again for her mistakes. She slid another rock into position before her.

"Uh...Susie?"

Frowning, she pushed away from the wall and turned.

Standing in the low evening light was MK. Aside from the fact he was approaching her, nothing was particularly abnormal. He was wearing the same gold necklace and armless shirt with the pocket that she still couldn't figure out how he used. The absence of any damage to his face was different but other than that, nothing.

She didn't get it.

Still, she could practically feel Ralsei urging her to at least try and be nice, so she leaned back against the wall.

"Whadya want?"

"I-uh..."

She waited a good few seconds as he shuffled against the pavement.

"C'mon! Spit it out!"

He took a step back.

' _Tch, can't even do that right'_

"Whatever" she huffed, kicking off the wall again and walking into the street, "I got places to be"

"...It's Kris"

She froze right in the middle of the road. Thankfully, with how low the population of the town was, she couldn't even hear any cars nearby. Still, she knew Undyne would love to bust her for something.

MK trembled in place as she walked back over, coming to a stop directly in front of him before stepping back slightly as she remembered she wasn't trying to intimidate him.

"What about him?"

"H-he ran through town a while back. He s-seemed pretty upset about...something" MK looked upwards finally to meet her gaze and found that he could actually see her eyes for a change. What he found more intriguing was the concern so clearly engraved in them. His voice steadied. "I admit, I don't know Kris as well as I'd like to and he hasn't been talking to me a lot lately. But he talks to you...S-so I thought…"

It was weirdly humbling, Susie thought, that he had gone out of his way to find her. Especially given that she knew MK wasn't particularly fond of her. He had been very easy to mock after all. The insides of her pockets twisted as she rubbed the cool fabric between her fingers.

"That-" she murmured, trying not to cringe as even her voice made MK question his sanity in speaking to her. "That was good thinking"

"...Really?" he asked, disbelievingly. The awkward air of the conversation seemed to solidify between them.

"Yeah...Thanks"

"Uh...you're welcome?"

They stood for a moment before Susie remembered the point of their exchange.

"So...where is he?"

"Oh! Sorry! Last I saw he was running to the lake. You know, that bit with the picnic benches?"

She nodded. "Cool. Cya around then, I guess"

She began to walk off before he called after her again.

"Hey, Susie?"

"Yeah?" she asked, turning side on to him.

He looked like he was fighting against himself as he took a step closer to her.

"Listen, I know we don't get on much, but...Do you and Kris...maybe wanna hang out sometime? I saw Kris after school when you and he disappeared that whole day and he got kind of annoyed at me when I, uh...Well, I wasn't very nice about you, I guess" Her lack of visible expression made him reconsider himself as he fumbled out an explanation. "I-It's fine if you don't, obviously, but...He thinks you're okay, so…"

He trailed off, looking at the floor as Susie once again stood stock still on the fading white lines of the road. She turned her head away from him as she processed something.

"N-nevermind, it was-"

"Sure"

"H-huh?"

"I mean, that sounds...fine, I guess"

"Oh! Right, of course! Cya then!"

He jogged off until he rounded the corner of a building, leaving her to her thoughts.

The admission that he had badmouthed her was even weirder than his invitation. She wasn't displeased with either if she was honest with herself though. The 'I told you so' she was sure to get was going to be well worth it.

'Heh. Can't wait to see the look on Kris's face when-Shit!'

She spun on her heel and broke into a jog towards the lake as she remembered MK's message.

o - o - o - o - o

The lake was never a particularly popular destination, offering nought but a few benches and a view. The dropping temperatures made it increasingly empty as well, not to mention the often inclement weather. He passed a few residents through the town as he ran by that stopped and stared but inevitably did nothing as they carried on their way. The most they would ever do was tell Toriel of her odd son's odd behaviour again.

He hadn't bothered sitting at the picnic tables. The metal would only be more uncomfortable with the chill permeating the evening air. Instead, he had made his way to the stony shoreline and sat crossed legged, staring into the calm waters.

'At least it isn't raining'

He really should've known it wouldn't go well.

Kris fiddled with his jumper as his other arm rubbed a sleeve up to his face. His tears had left him midway through his run but he still let out a hiccup every now and again as he thought about it.

Neither one was truly at fault. Their approaches to each other after the divorce had always clashed and as far as Kris was concerned, they always would. Toriel couldn't let the past go and always had to address any fumble on Asgore's part. Meanwhile, he always pretended nothing was wrong to try and lighten the mood whilst unknowingly stepping on every faux pas he could.

It had always been like that. Only this time, he and Asriel weren't hiding in their room as he burrowed into his older brother's chest. Today, they were right in the middle.

The hand in his sweater curled into a fist.

'Running away in tears? How old am I again?'

In retrospect, he felt terrible for abandoning Asriel. His brother probably wasn't faring any better. He only really got through their older fights because he had Kris to console. He had taken his parents' words about being a support for Kris to heart from an early age, even when it was against those who had told him to in the first place. Being an adult, he actually had to deal with that situation now. He probably hated it.

'What is the point of having a shield if I can't even stay strong myself?'

Kris rested his chin against his knees as his eyes began watering again. He only hoped Asriel wouldn't think poorly of him for running away.

'Some hero I am...'

"Kris?"

He flinched.

Susie trudged down the rest of the way toward him, her boots crunching loudly against the stones beneath her. Kris wondered how on earth he didn't hear her before now.

She sat down on his right before grabbing a handful and chucking one into the lake.

"So, uh...what's going on?"

She let the question linger before she threw another, filling the silence with the sound of splashing.

"It's just that...You don't look...okay, really. That's why I'm..."

Sighing, she let the rest of the stones in her grip tumble out.

"Listen, you know I'm not too good at all this...feelings stuff"

She slowly looped an arm over his shoulder, making him twitch abruptly at the contact.

"But if you need to talk, I...I got nowhere else to be" At his continued silence, she began doubting her word choice. "Gah! That's not it! You always say it better…"

She was swiftly relieved of that notion as his fingers wrapped her own larger digits.

"You're not gonna leave?" Kris offered quietly, his voice hoarse and rasping. The edge of her mouth turned up in a sad smile.

"Yeah...that" she replied, gripping his arm a little tighter. When he responded in kind, Susie decided to be a bit bolder.

She brought her left leg back before swinging it around him before shifting herself so she was sat behind him. From there she rested her chin on his messy auburn locks as she wrapped her arms overtop his around his midsection. It didn't take long before she heard and felt his breathing hitch with a gasp before his convulsions lightly rocked her own form, but only after feeling the tell-tale tap of tears against her hands.

As large as she was, anyone approaching the lake from behind would only see her back without the slightest clue of the human quivering against her. Even from the front, they would have difficulty as her hair hung low in front of them like a curtain. A scaly wall from the world.

The sky darkened further as they both sat there, their combined shadow stretching further and further out into the lake. Susie hadn't felt the awkwardness of the silence once Kris had started crying mutely. She was well aware she wasn't as good with words as him was so if this was something she could do to comfort him then she was more than happy.

Susie realised she didn't even know what he was upset about yet, her eyes narrowing imperceptibly at the thought. If someone had hurt him…

Well, they had best hope Kris had a shred of mercy left in him because right now she was going to take Ralsei's advice on pacifism and shove it where the sun didn't shine.

Before following it with her boot.

Noticing his tremors had abated reasonably, she rolled a thumb down his ribs. "You good?"

He gazed timidly back up at her, nodding. His bangs parting to reveal the eyes he hid so well. He was still squinting from his emotional outburst but they were more clear than she thought possible.

Bright, sanguine irises gazed up at her. Impressive enough by themselves, they were framed with engorged blood vessels that made the rest of his eye look pink. She had seen pictures of other humans before. The biology class on them had at least been slightly interesting once she found out how powerful they could be. Maybe she hadn't been paying too much attention when Alphys was going over all the differences in their possible appearances but she didn't remember anything about red eyes.

"I think so"

"Good...that's...yeah"

He ducked his head back down once he realised what she was staring at before wriggling a little. Susie untangled herself and stood up, allowing him to do the same.

She cleared her throat. "So, you need me to pound someone for you?" She cracked her knuckles for effect with a toothy grin. "You know I'll do it"

Kris smiled weakly as he shook his head, brushing off a few stones sticking to his trousers.

"Just a family argument, that's all. Unless you want to beat up my parents?"

Susie laughed half-heartedly, dusting herself off as well.

"Aaaaaaaaand, let's go with no. Your mom is pretty scary, man"

Kris hummed in mock agreement. "Scarier than dad anyway"

She cocked her head. "Don't think I've met your dad actually"

"He runs the flower shop. Nice guy" He paused. "Bad at...talking" he added.

She smirked. "So, like you then?"

"S-shut up" Kris snorted, wiping his nose with a sleeve.

She laughed a little before looking over the lake again. Their shadows were well and truly blending into the low light now, and looked like they were about to disappear completely. She frowned.

"You gonna be okay to go home? It's getting pretty dark. I'd say you could hang out with me at my place but I don't think that's such a good idea either"

Kris furrowed his brow at that but thought it better not to pry.

"Yeah. I think so"

She patted him on the back "Cool. Lemme walk you back at least"

o - o - o - o - o

Their trip back wasn't filled with any more words. Both were too busy in their own heads to disturb the other.

It was funny really. Susie had always thought a boyfriend had been off the table for her given how poorly she performed at just making friends. Even if it did happen, she never would've imagined someone like Kris would've even made her short list. Now that he held that position though, the idea of anyone else filling it was laughable.

Having said that, she was on her way to making another friend if her conversation with MK was anything to go by. A conversation that likely never would have happened if Kris hadn't become a part of her life.

She snuck a glance down at her companion and upon seeing the tiny smile embedded into his face, faced forward again with one of her own.

Kris was just happy with the proximity. He wasn't one for public affection either and so he hardly minded the lack of contact and talking. If anything he was happy that Susie never pressured him to talk when he didn't want to. It was one of the small advantages she had over Asriel. He was always doing something and bringing him along like his silence was something to be fixed.

Neither was he worried about facing his family again. Asgore had either left and he'd see them separately tomorrow or they must have cooled down since he had vanished. Toriel was always the angrier one and worrying over her children was something he could always trust to win out over her irritation with her former husband.

Susie only broke the reverie as they finally approached the long driveway to his home.

"Hey, Kris?"

"Yeah?"

"Your eyes are pretty cool"

Kris became aware of how red he was as soon as she started laughing before commenting that at least now they matched his cheeks. Punching her in the shoulder only made her laugh harder as she made her own way home.

He waved her off as he trudged back to his house, the lights illuminating all three figures inside.


	6. Trust

Kris was quite good at reading people.

He would never brag about it for obvious reasons but he had seen his new parents divorce from a mile off while Asriel shushed him softly, flattening his unkempt hair with soft strokes. Kris always cried long after the fighting was over and his brother could never truly understand it, even as Toriel and Asgore both assured him that everything was okay again.

Because it wasn't.

But that could be chalked up to his 'experience in the field'. Despite being very young at the time, he knew full well what a failed relationship looked like. Still, his systematic quietness and people's obliviousness towards him often allowed him to pick up a lot of the towns odd quirks.

For example...

Alphys talked to herself quite frequently. Waiting for his mother to be done grading papers had been boring enough for him to wander and discover the funny habit as it persisted down the corridor. Once, when someone rounded a corner, she pretended to be talking into an earpiece about twenty years after they had gone out of fashion.

His father seemed to have a million tiny things he liked to do for what seemed like the pure enjoyment of it. He smelled books after buying them, riffling the pages enough to waft his beard as he revelled in the scent of fresh print. Asriel had once caught him imitating it with a book on lepidoptery when he was quite young.

When Kris mentioned the fact that the lion in QC's diner liked to preen over their appearance in the glass panes of photo frames to Asriel, he had chuckled nervously in response.

"Golly Kris, I didn't know you liked people watching!"

He shrugged. "Not really. Just notice things"

"Gosh...Have you seen me doing anything like that?"

Kris shook his head, sipping his hot chocolate to hide an emerging smirk.

Asriel still liked to run up the stairs on all fours from time to time. Even when he walked in their room, calm as anything, Kris could always hear the muted thudding against the carpet from their room.

Despite finally putting a name to his observations, it never truly felt like it was what he had been doing. It made it sound so...deliberate. That he was going out of his way to silently observe people in his day to day. He never considered it much of a hobby either, in so far as he got no fun out of it. It was just something he did, and it had never been a particularly useful skill to have either.

o - o - o - o - o

"Damnit"

Kris wondered what the closet doors were made of.

"Damnit!"

Surely no normal metal could take this kind of abuse.

"DAMNIT!"

He glanced back before resting his hand on her shoulder. They fell at his touch as she stepped back from the double doors.

"I'm sorry, I just…"

Kris shook his head. "Don't be. I miss them too"

"...Yeah...Yeah, that's it"

As she wandered over to the classroom doors, Kris frowned to himself before following.

While they tried the closet every day without fail, most times Susie would sigh almost comically before cracking a joke about it.

" _Hah. Guess I'll have to think of a different way to skip math!"_

He still wanted to see Ralsei and Lancer. If the ace of spades Susie kept on her at all times was any indication, she did too, but he had been content with how much less the disappointment seemed to affect her these days. His sullen look stuck with him as he followed her into the classroom.

They both leant against the wall as Kris upended his bag in front of them. She practically lit up and for a moment, Kris forgot he was ever worried about her. The pie went first as usual, though much faster than he expected. Same with the crisps. By the time he had finished a sandwich of his own, she had torn through almost half the bags worth.

Susie ate almost anything and in staggering amounts to boot. Her old chalk habit aside, she often gnawed on pencils throughout classes and devoured erasers that she was able to snatch off desks. Many a student knew of the odd trait if only because they had to ask their parents for new stationery after sitting near her long enough.

But that had stopped a while ago, hadn't it? Or at least decreased somewhat. He didn't complain at his reduced portion size as he handed her a water bottle.

"Heh. Thanks"

He nodded as she unscrewed the cap and held it aloft above her. The ensuing waterfall was amusing to watch although much less so to try himself. He was sure it was possible if he reduced the distance a little but when he had coughed and pulled the bottle away, he managed to get a not-insubstantial amount up his nose.

Not an experience he was dying to repeat.

It had been even less amusing the first time he had offered one, only for her to chomp the plastic down as well.

She passed it back to him with a satisfied sigh, which devolved into a yawn almost immediately. His concern returned with backup as her jaw remained open for a good few seconds before she managed to close it.

"Hey, Susie?"

She cracked an eye open. "Yeah?"

"Is something….wrong?"

She cracked an eye open. "Huh?"

"You're more tired than usual. Is everything okay?"

A nervous little smile crept onto her face. "Hah. Why wouldn't it be? You worry too much, ya dweeb!"

Did he? It wasn't like she was sleeping in class or anything but she wasn't far off these days. Whenever he had managed to catch a glimpse of her in classes, she was always amusing herself with whatever she had to hand to whittle the time away. Now, she barely so much as glanced around her, opting instead to hang her head as she carved illegible markings into the desk wood. Admittedly, monitoring that behaviour had been difficult because in every class he shared with her she gravitated to the back like there was a black hole that fed on boredom. The only reason he was able to keep a better tab on it now was that turning around didn't guarantee him a spot on her shit list anymore.

"Yeah. Maybe I do..."

"Damn right!"

She brought her hands behind her head to form a cushion as she leaned back, seemingly satisfied. Still, he noticed how much effort it seemed to coerce them open again. He knew it was impossible for the bags under her eyes to change in size so rapidly over only a few days but the way her eyelids dipped all the time certainly gave the illusion of it.

"Susie?"

"Mmm?"

"You can take a nap if you want. I don't mind"

"Huh? That'd be nice, but-" Another yawn cut her off and she seemed to turn a few shades redder trying to shut her jaw. Kris smiled smugly as she deflated slightly at her body's betrayal. "...Wouldn't it be boring? For you! I mean-"

"Nah. You seemed really out of it today. Go for it"

Her panic seemed to dissipate as her teeth shone in a wide smile. "Heh. Thanks, dweeb"

His own smile faltered as he spotted her hand in his peripheral vision. Bracing himself for a noogie, he was pleasantly surprised by the arm instead looping around his shoulder before eliminating the already negligible distance between them. He tried to mumble out a response but gave up when he felt her head rest itself next to his own.

It was hard not to notice how touchy-feely she had become. It was one of the things he felt very privileged to know about her since she kept it so well hidden. Anytime they were out of the public eye, Susie would find a reason to plant flags in his personal space. It always started cautiously, like any proximity from the day before had vanished like dreams once the morning came but once it was clear he welcomed her advances, her fervent touching became more and more obvious throughout the day.

Picking him up and carrying him underarm like a human-shaped football had become her new favourite thing apparently and if she wasn't slinging her arm around him when they hung out, she was fiddling with his hair as they lounged about in the spare classroom waiting for their next lesson.

He smiled to himself as she slipped further into sleep, nuzzling into his neck unconsciously. Her mouth hung slightly open and warm tufts of air tickled his chin every so often. It wasn't until the snoring started again in earnest before he found his words again.

"Anytime, Snoozy..."

o - o - o - o - o

 **WHOOSH**

The plastic cask filled with a short burst of flame and an odd combination of a sucking and blowing sound in the span of a half second before the room returned to it's darkened state. A few "ooh's" and "Woah!'s" were exchanged before Alphys brought the lights back on.

"Ok, so! I've got a few extra bottles here" she said, pulling another out from behind the desk. "So you guys can give it a try as well! B-but try not to get the alcohol on anything else. It evaporates quite fast but it might stain your clothes, so usual lab rules apply!"

It was exactly the kind of 'Fun' lesson Alphys was consistently guilty of. The experiment had barely gotten Susie to look up and Kris had seen it all before. Literally. Having an older brother meant he had been shown this the day Asriel had seen it. MK had stars in his eyes as usual but his reaction was tempered by the unimpressed looks on his lab partners already blank faces.

He had been very surprised when MK approached them when Alphys told them all to divide for classwork and even more so when Susie gave her approval to it with a shrug. He wasn't sure which was tolerating the other for his benefit but he was humbled by the thought either way and tried to get them talking in each other's presence as often as he could. It looked like Susie's limits were set to allowing him within 5 feet of her though, and she barely conversed with him beyond what could be conveyed with grunts.

MK, for whatever reason, seemed somewhat slighted by the cold shoulder, though he was clearly stuck lying in the bed he'd made. The rest of the class was already divided, and as the tense atmosphere only increased, Kris caught his regretful glances at Jockington's group from time to time. Noticing Noelle's slightly peeved look at MK from the other end of the room was much less hard to pick up on, however.

So it was left to the class mute to get them talking, was it?

'Wonderful'

Still...It was a science class. He could make this work.

Science had been one of Asriel's favourite subjects before he had been obligated to choose a field to start specialising in. Botany was always his favourite but he, like most students, couldn't help but love chemistry and Asriel couldn't resist teaching him all the cool stuff he had learned.

Kris, in turn, immediately perverted all of his lessons into material for pranking.

He gave MK a short poke.

"Huh? What's up, dude?"

"You got a dollar?"

If MK was stunned to hear him speak more than one word, he didn't let on as his eyes flickered towards Susie. She had lifted her head to gaze at him as well, similarly perplexed.

"W-why?"

"Just trust me. It'll be cool"

It took a second but he closed his mouth before leaning towards his breast pocket and, rather dexterously, riffled through whatever else he kept in there to find a neatly folded note.

"Hrr"

Kris delicately plucked it from between the gold monster's teeth before grabbing the bottle of Isopropyl alcohol Alphys had carefully put on their table. It did not go unnoticed how she put it in front of MK before depositing the water cask near Kris and walking briskly away. Susie didn't even bother glaring after her as she flicked a claw against the empty bottle.

Grabbing two of the beakers from under the desk, he ran it under the tap built into the desk for a seconds before pulling it away. He measured out the same amount of alcohol in the other before mixing them with a small flourish. Susie snorted, his finger jutting out making him look like he was back in the dark world.

"H-hey!"

MK was nonplussed to say the least as his bill was dipped into the mixture. It was unceremoniously plopped onto the desk as Kris grabbed one of the wooden splints Alphys had supplied. He smirked at the both of them as he brought the lit splint to MK's dollar. Susie could not have been more enraptured by what seemed like an unnatural level of gall for the usually quiet kid.

"Hah! What the hell, Kris?"

By now, the entire class had caught wind of the trick, and Alphys was looking at the display wondering whether she should reprimand him for misusing chemicals, compliment the ingenuity or steal it to impress the lower years.

The bill caught fire.

Kris looked around, suppressing a chuckle of his own as they witnessed him seemingly set fire to a dollar for no reason. Even MK sat transfixed as his money 'burned' before him. Susie, noting the attention on them was trying hard not to grin but her attention was still firmly fixed on the note.

He much preferred it with cotton balls if he was honest. Both his parents were frequent users of casual fire magic and it endlessly fascinated him until the day he realised he wouldn't be able to follow in their footsteps. Just like the fake horns he still had somewhere in his room, Asriel had shown him the little trick as he learnt it, and the two spent an afternoon hurling 'fireballs' at bottles. Toriel had insisted on supervising. Along with the proviso that they both wore protective gloves.

Eventually, the lack of solution snuffed the flame out and Kris handed MK his bill back, who took it with a look of reverence and a "Yooooooooooo" for good measure.

Alphys elected to go with option two...and three.

"W-well, that's certainly using the ol' noodle, Kris! I hope that's proof that you can explain what happened in the write up for today!"

Just like that, she had lost them. The groans of chairs and students filled the air as they all sat back down, the magic well and truly lost. Kris took one look at the chemical reaction Alphys had written up on the board while he had been preparing his trick before he deflated.

2(CH3)2CHOH + 9O2 - 6CO2 + 8H2O

Nope.

"Psst"

At least MK seemed to have been paying more attention to the actual meat of the class as he gestured to the both of them that they could just copy his write up. His writing was untidy which was understandable, but surprisingly legible, and Kris found it just fine deciphering the scrawls.

What was difficult was ignoring Susie's bulk as she loomed over him, similarly intent on sharing in MK's intelligence. His face flushed from her close presence before he twinged as he caught something he had noticed a few times now.

Susie had a very distinctive scent to her. Perhaps it was just the time of year but the scent of the outdoors clung to her like cleavers leaves in the summer that even the pungent odour of the alcohol couldn't mask as she leaned over. The earthy smell of autumn mixed with smoky bonfires permeated her hair to the point that, with them being as close as they often were, he had begun to notice it in his own clothing in the mornings. Sometimes he was able to pick up an almost burnt peppery undertone that he was sure was closer to her natural aroma.

The smell of the outdoors still clung to her as strongly as ever but it was interlaced with different scents. They were quite faint which had to mean they were new, and he only ever managed to catch them every now and again. The stark contrast of garbage, expired food and cigarettes had been difficult to miss though. Truthfully, it was difficult for him to pick up on, and it wasn't because nose felt constantly stuffy from the increasingly inclement weather.

It was that Susie was starting to shy away from him.

Every time one of their more intimate moments would rear its head, she seemed to catch herself before she ducked out of it with a joke or a mild ribbing. It had hurt at first, though of course, he had said nothing, opting instead to watch as it happened again and again with startling regularity.

He suspected it had something to do with how grimy her hair was getting, not to mention the slowly increasing B.O he was able to pick up. While usually as unmanageable as his own, her own mop was beginning to look particularly greasy. He rather suspected if she would let him near it he'd probably find more than her fair share of knots in it too.

He knew how self-conscious Susie was about things like that now, especially around him. After he noticed her trying to be less snarky with their teachers, he brought the topic up with her on one of their lunches to be treated to one of her huge toothy grins.

' _Hahaha, w-well...Guess you're rubbing off on me, huh dweeb?'_

The worst of all of it was that he didn't know anyone else he could go to about it. Most of the teachers were petrified of her and the only member of local law enforcement only knew of her through misdemeanours. His mother seemed the best option but he doubted Susie would appreciate getting her involved. He highly suspected she didn't want anyone involved if he was honest, but something had to be done.

Even if he went to any of them, what was he going to say? That he noticed she was more tired than usual? That her unrelenting hunger had returned? That her usual, pleasantly spiky aroma was intermingling with something foul? That he missed her fondness of being close to him? Most, if not all of them, were guaranteed to get him funny looks at best and labelled a creep at worst.

Kris decided what he was doing definitely wasn't people watching at that point. Watching meant you didn't get involved.

Time to ACT.

"Yo, Kris. Have you seen my eraser?"

o - o - o - o - o

The evening was bitterly cold and Kris lamented not bringing a jacket. Mercifully, the fibres of his jumper barely made any noise as they rubbed together whereas the nylon of his coat would've given him away something fierce. All he had to do was concentrate on not letting his teeth chatter.

Usually, Kris did not have to try to go unnoticed, which he had always found strange, being the only human in the entire town. Most didn't seem to know how to talk to him when he was outside of Asriel's presence and so actively pretended he wasn't there. He could only suppose they had done it long enough for it to become a subconscious habit.

Thankfully, years of living with an overly attentive mother and an equally rambunctious older brother had prepared him for today. Where once he might have avoided squeaky floorboards under the carpet to get midnight snacks, today he sidestepped wrappers, stray twigs and strewn about leaves. He was well accustomed to walking silently over the linoleum floor of his kitchen, rolling his weight from the heel of his foot to his toes so that all that might be heard was the peeling sound of the sweat sticking them together from the fear of being caught. His steps against the concrete sidewalk went unnoticed by all.

Even if Susie was paying attention to the world outside her head, she wouldn't have heard him. Her thick boots, that somehow managed to remain un-pierced by the large claw-like nails he knew she had down there, were making short work of anything underfoot. He was hardly avoiding any debris at all now that he thought about it. When Susie was in a bad mood, anything in her way became a target and he found she was quite effectively clearing the path for him. A can violently crumpled beneath her, sticking itself to the shoe by its new shape alone before she sent it skittering across the road with a kick.

He had felt particularly underhanded as they parted ways as usual. He had cited going to the diner with his brother for dinner and she had nodded along with an affirmative grunt as she glanced away from him. He gave her a good ten-second lead before he started tailing her. It was a necessary lie for what needed to be done but it had stung nonetheless.

Kris lied a lot.

He lied about being sorry for scaring Noelle with his pranks and lied to Toriel about eating all the hidden chocolate in the middle of the night. He lied to Alphys that he had merely forgotten his homework rather than not done it and he had lied to Father Alvin about where his grape juice had gone. He lied to Asriel that he would be okay when he left and lied to Asgore that his mother didn't throw his flowers away.

He had lied about crying when his original parents fought, even as his eyes remained stubbornly red after retreating to his room. "Big boys don't cry" his mother had told him, accusation permeating her tone as acrid odours poured from her lips. She led him sternly by the arm to a mirror so she could show him how her proof. His denials fell away pitifully as he saw how bloodshot they had gotten, like ocular lie detectors.

They were kept well hidden after that.

At any rate, it had been a long time since he had felt so guilty for lying to anyone. It had stuck with him for the first few minutes of his stalking but had dropped off as his curiosity overtook him.

Susie only stopped once during her walk. She paused abruptly near the tree line at the intersection between the diner and the ICE-E's PEZZA place on her right and the apartments most of their schoolmates lived in on her left with that strange house and shop owned by that skeleton guy standing innocuously between them. There were a few seconds of what seemed like deliberation as she stared right, her hands fumbling in her pockets before she shook her head and continued south.

She almost caught him out once as she crossed a street manned by Undyne 'directing' traffic if what she was doing could be stretched that far. Yelling at the drivers was sending mixed signals and Susie had made sure no one was going to run her over before she crossed. As Kris saw her begin to look both ways, he darted behind one of the golden trees near the hospital's rear to avoid being caught in her periphery.

"Hey! I'm watching you, punk!"

He peeked out from his hiding spot to see Susie flip the fish lady off before reaching the other side. If Undyne wanted to follow up on that, she was stopped by one of the cars trying to break away from the traffic queue with the distraction.

"HEY! Did I say you could go?!"

The road to the church was a long one, and Kris was sure he wouldn't lose sight of Susie unless he really lagged behind. Just to be safe, he waited a few seconds before crossing the road himself, making sure to pass behind the enraged cop as quietly as possible at a slight jog.

Kris was fairly sure Susie didn't live down this way. She came from this direction certainly but since he started waiting on the corner by the hospital in the mornings to walk into school with her, she had always emerged from somewhere beyond the police station. Thanks to his mother's insistence that he attend, he was sure he hadn't seen her at any church gatherings either. Not that he really pegged her as the religious type anyway.

Still, as he saw her finally reach the clearing, she did indeed turn right to the towering green structure of Hometown's house of God. Kris had fully expected her to start trudging into the woods or even to hang out by the incredibly creepy (even by his standards) bunker at the southernmost point of the town's border.

He crept his way around the building but was further surprised that Susie hadn't gone in there either. Instead, she was steadily making her way into the…

'Oh…'

He suddenly felt like he was intruding far more than he had the right to as he peered around the corner into the graveyard.

Dumbstruck, he stood silently for a few seconds before pulling himself out of it as more questions sprang to mind. As upsetting a thought as his current suspicions were, they didn't explain her string of odd behaviours. Ducking into the treeline, he followed along, determined to see this quest to its end.

Susie's family was a closely guarded secret, even to him. It never came up in conversation and Kris didn't want to tempt his chances by asking. On the rare occasion she would hang out at his house, he could clearly see how guarded she was around his mother. Watching her trying to be respectful had always been amusing as she fumbled over thanking her for food and making sure she didn't overstay her welcome. Looking back, he felt like a lead balloon had sunk into the pit of his stomach.

He had to move a lot slower than before, sidestepping twigs and leaves, being mindful not to trip over the huge roots of trees that he was sure weren't as old as Father Alvin. Thankfully, there was little in the graveyard he couldn't see from his vantage point and the vision was clear enough to see that Susie hadn't gone anywhere near the gravestones. Instead, she had passed them without so much as a glance before slowly lying down on the bench sequestered in the corner. The large headstones of some of the more prominent monsters shielded it almost entirely from view unless you were sitting properly on it.

He stood silently behind a particularly wide tree, his hands gripping the undulations in the bark. The old thing was greyer than the rest, and its bark was peeling away. He steadied himself as he continued to observe her, noting the wrappers and packets surrounding the normally pristine area. If the weight in his stomach had abated once she didn't visit a gravestone, it somehow tripled its presence as a minute on the bench became two.

Then three.

Then ten.

It was quite clear she wasn't getting back up anytime soon and his thoughts were once again awhirl as he pondered the implications. The only thing that managed to break his stunned reverie was the loud growl that came from her, to which she pressed a hand and curled up a little tighter.

Readjusting his weight, the sinking feeling in his stomach suddenly morphed into a chasm as his foot pressed too hard into the decaying bark and sent him sliding down its trunk as it gave way beneath him.

He saw her panic and sit bolt upright but had ducked behind the tree before her frenzied gaze was levelled his way.

"Who's there?!"

Mud and bits of dead wood clung to his jumper as he breathed as quietly as he could. He wasn't sure why he was bothering to hide now. There was no way she would think the noise he made was natural, even half asleep as she was. She called out again, the surprise in her voice gone, leaving behind nought but single-minded fury.

"I'm serious! Come out or I'll make you come out! You're getting thrashed either way, so move!"

Pursing his lips together, he sighed and stepped away from the protection of the tree.

o - o - o - o - o

This day had been going terribly.

Kris was too busy with his brother to hang out as usual. It was to be expected she supposed. She already felt like she was hogging all his time and it was only natural he wanted to spend time with the guy that was practically his idol.

She remembered back before Kris had even come to the town as golden child Asriel would tell anyone that breathed about how he was getting a little brother. Kris had practically attached himself to Asriel's hip so she could understand why he wanted to be around him for a change.

Not only that, but they were going to the diner of all places. How the hell was she meant to eat now without possibly running into them and being stuck with a laundry list of questions she didn't want to answer. Questions she especially didn't want Kris to be there for.

Tiredly, she had returned to the place she knew she wouldn't be disturbed. She so rarely frequented the area but it made do in times of turbulence. Seeing as her usual accommodation was unavailable, this was one of those times. The wood of the bench was dry and knotted like the surrounding trees it was probably made from. It was way comfier than trying to sleep on one of the metal picnic benches and much more out of the way.

She huffed to herself before lying down on it, ignoring the phantom pain her memory elicited when she remembered what her impromptu bed would do to her posture come the morning. Still, it could be worse. The cold hardly bothered her with how thick her hide was and as ratty and old as her clothes were, they were capable of keeping enough heat in for her.

Beginning to doze off, she opened an eye to glance at some of the packaging around her. Had she left anything in any of them? Knowing her own habits, she presumed not and the thought of eating the boxes themselves flitted across her mind.

'No'

She wasn't that desperate. She could still taste things, and the wrappings weren't all from the most appetising locations. If it got in the way of getting the food then sure, it might as well go in along with it but some boxes were just too ungainly for that to be an option. Like the tupperware Kris brought his mother's pie into school with. Eating that would just be infuriating.

The thought of the desert sent her stomach into dismay at the taunt, an ungodly escaping her groan as she curled around it.

Today was an awful day.

But it could always get worse.

"Who's there?!"

She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she heard the noise in the graveyard. A mugger? A rapist? A grin cracked on her face as she stood up. Crime was low to the point of nonexistence in Hometown and she was practically the scariest thing the dinky little town had to offer anyway.

Confidence returning, she took a step toward the tree, wishing her blue edged axe would materialize for her. The weight of it had been a comfort in the dark world like it was an extension of her already powerful frame. If nothing else, she could revel in her stalkers look of surprise as she cut down the tree to get to them. Hell, beating the snot out of someone sounded pretty good right now.

"I'm serious! Come out or I'll make you come out! You're getting thrashed either way, so move!"

Her grin was almost feral as a hand gripped the side of the tree before it abruptly fell off as the figure stepped onto the grass.

"..."

"Kris?"

"...Hey"

Breath seemed to elude Susie as she stood across from her friend. Her best friend. Her…

Pushing the thought away as she blinked away the beginnings of tears, the hot flush of embarrassment scored her face. She sucked in a lungful of air, wincing as it only seemed to make the pressure on her chest even worse. She dared to take a glance up at him and was marginally relieved to see his focus stuck to the floor, bangs obscuring his eyes as always. Statuesque like he had been in the dark world as she waited for him to dictate their battle plans. Silent except for when absolutely necessary.

His muteness suddenly felt sadistic as she stuffed her hands in her pockets to hide their shaking.

"What the hell are you doing here?..." There was a pause as he shifted his weight around. "Well?"

"...I followed you"

The brutal honesty almost caught her off guard. "Followed me? What are you following me for, you freak?!"

His head rose sharply at the insult before turning away again, unable to look at her. Every excuse he had, every justification for his actions fell by the wayside as he caught her gaze in that instant. The guilt rose in his throat like bile. "I…"

Hurt flashed across her face before her expression settled coldly. Susie didn't much care for his reasons anymore.

"You lied to me…"

It seemed like forever before he responded.

"...So did you"

A deceptively calm smile wormed its way across her jaw as her teeth unconsciously ground together beneath it.

Once was a fluke. Twice was a coincidence. Three times was a pattern, and she would be damned if she was going to let someone pull the rug out from under her again. "Really?" She took a step forward. "When was that?"

For the first time, Kris looked back up at her, though his auburn locks still obscured his eyes. Confidence or something equally misguided seemed to fuel him. "You told me you were fine"

"Well, let me clear that up for you" Another step. "Nothing's wrong that you can fix!" The shout made Kris flinch but he remained where he was. "But let's get back to the part..." Another step. Her tone grew darker. "Where you betrayed me..." Through the red haze that clouded her vision, she watched as Kris thought for a second before stepping forward himself. The close proximity threw her for a loop as her pace was broken.

He was within arms reach.

"I would never-"

The haze became blinding but she still managed to firmly grip the worn fibres of his jumper as she held him aloft briefly.

" **BUT YOU DID!"**

 **KRIS 20/20**

 **-1**

 **19/20**

He hit the grass with a heavy thud as she practically spiked him, breath escaping in a wheeze. Susie didn't move as she watched him rise back up, her shadow covering Kris as she towered above him.

"Why?!"

"I was concerned!"

"You were nosy!"

 **KRIS 19/20**

 **-2**

 **17/20**

A fist connected with his shoulder, sending him spinning back down to the ground. The world seemed to continue shaking as he staggered to his feet, though Susie didn't wait for him as she returned with her rant.

"There are some things you can't fix, Kris!"

He collected himself again. "You're right, but-"

 **KRIS 17/20**

 **-3**

 **14/20**

An open claw met his arm this time, threads peeling away to reveal skin from the swing. He took a step back, gripping the wound, either not noticing or caring as it slowly started to change colour under his fingers.

" **BUT NOTHING!"**

He didn't move once he had gotten up, shuddering in place. There was something eerily familiar about the situation. Her snarl morphed into a grimace without her knowledge as she sucked in another painful breath.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"I just want to help..."

She pushed him back this time. Heavily, and enough that he almost fell over before catching himself. Something sparked in his eyes at the lack of force though. She dipped her head, refusing to look at him as the haze was replaced by something that obscured her vision just as easily.

"...I don't NEED your help!"

"I believe you"

She huffed several deep breaths in as her fingers clenched and unclenched. His approach was only signalled by the soft sound of grass underfoot. As it came to a stop in front of her, her snarl returned, though holding it was painful somehow. She looked up, grabbing him by the jumper again. She didn't lift him off the ground but instead curled her hands tightly over his shoulders, wincing slightly as she made contact with one of his own. She forced herself to meet his gaze, catching a hint of red as he met it.

"Then why did you do it?! I trusted you!"

"Because I love you, you idiot! I'm allowed to be concerned!"

o - o - o - o - o

Kris couldn't help but wonder why the pastor hadn't come to check on the noise. He had fully expected officer Undyne to come sprinting into the graveyard halfway into their argument, baton out and above her head.

But no one came. Thank god.

His jumper was caked in mud and foliage from his fall and now that he was able to focus on something other than convincing Susie of his intentions, he had started to notice the dull throb in his right arm. His back ached from the initial throw but it seemed much less noticeable now.

The hands wrapped around his shoulders quivered before she fell on him, claws digging into his sides as her obscured his vision. He dropped the hand off his own shoulder and returned it, sinking into the embrace he had been denied so long, relishing the warm spicy scent that greeted him. The chill of the evening seemed to fade as they both stood there, relishing a contact they had both thought lost.

"...Goddamnit" She sniffed. He couldn't help but smirk.

"That isn't how people usually respond to that"

He laughed himself as she managed to choke out a single rasping laugh. "F-fuck off"

"Hah...C'mon"

He led her back over to the bench, disguising his slight hobble by walking behind her. She almost fell against on the sturdy thing, breathing heavily as she turned away from him again. He sat down as well and rubbed his sleeves for warmth to fill the sudden lack of noise. It took a while but he finally decided on what to say.

"I'm sorry"

Susie glanced back at him. "Huh? What for?"

"Snooping". She snorted.

"Well...Don't be...Guess I'm just not used to….Nevermind"

She turned back to staring over the graveyard as he tried to figure out some way of broaching his worries with her. Brute force wasn't usually his strategy but she certainly didn't seem to appreciate subterfuge, a lesson he would endeavour to remember.

"Susie?...Are you...homeless?"

"What? No! Why would you-" Her eyes widened under her mop of hair. His concern for her suddenly seemed overwhelming once she considered the information he had to work with. She nudged a PEZZA box below her idly, lips pursed together.

"Huh...Well, I guess I can kinda see why you would think that...But no, that's not it"

Thinking he was pressuring her again, he dared to reach a hand over to her own. "You don't have to tell me, I just-"

"No!...No, I...I want to". She turned her hand over to clutch his as her teeth dug into her lip. "Just...Let me get this all out, alright?"

He nodded. "Ok"

"Ok, well…" she began. "My dad used to be a good guy. I think. I can't remember a whole lot from when I was a kid. I remember him and mom fighting sometimes but when they weren't it was great. They didn't fight in front of me or at least they tried not to but it wasn't exactly a big house. I dunno why but Mom bailed eventually...Just left one day without saying goodbye to me. I didn't think things were that bad"

Thanks to nursery school, Susie was not subject to the majority of disagreements her parents had. Kris sidled over a little more as the uncomfortable weight began to return while Susie wiped her eye with a sleeve.

"Dad didn't handle it very well. He started drinking a lot more than before which got him fired for being drunk at work eventually. Now he works as a janitor somewhere, though I dunno how he keeps that job. He barely leaves the house anymore. It's not that he's abusive or anything, he just...doesn't care anymore. Took me a while to notice he'd stopped caring for a long time actually..."

It started with toys before she suddenly found herself bereft of school materials. The next thing to be forgotten was new clothing. Eventually, to his immense displeasure, she found some of her mom's old clothes that fit her new lanky frame, even though they hung loosely on her like she was a coat hanger. The spitting image of his old wife now roaming the halls made him retreat even further into his stupor as necessities like food began to go by the wayside.

"Now, he barely does anything. There's no real food in the house so I get it myself where I can, which-" she kicked the PEZZA box again, "isn't always from the best places".

It was obvious by her tone she had to scrounge for food in ways that would make his mother's snail pie look like fine cuisine. His teeth clicked together in silent fury. A whispy high pitched tone ringing in his head. Still, it didn't quite explain-

"So, recently I came home to find him on the sofa as always, but apparently he's noticed I'm gone more than I used to be. Guess he was drunker than usual too. He just went off on one, saying 'If I don't need him anymore, then why do I bother coming back'. Usually, he forgets after a day and I come back here if I need to rough it while he cools off but...he didn't this time. Couldn't even get my stuff either"

Susie had noticed the grip on her hand getting progressively tighter as her story had continued and had to turn away to disguise her smile at the thought. Kris was never visibly angry. Ever. She had been surprised enough when she realised he had actually gone above a speaking voice once her anger had subsided but she had never seen him mad. The closest he had gotten was sucker punching that guy trying to get her expelled.

"So, that's about it, I think..."

There was a tense silence as she stared at the ground, waiting for his reaction. Their hands remained locked in place and when he remained as quiet as he had been while she had recited her tale, she gave his hand a short squeeze back to get his attention. His head fell a little.

"Kris?"

"Sorry, but I have to say it. Your dad's an arsehole"

Susie hadn't expected that. An apology for something that was never his fault? That was more in line with how she expected this to go and she couldn't help the snort that broke through her sniffling.

"Hey, no arguments here. I mean, yeah, he's my dad but he hasn't been a dad in a long time, y'know?" Kris nodded numbly, straightening up with a soft grunt. "Hey…"

"Yeah?"

Concern flashed over her own face as she gazed back at him properly "...I'm sorry too"

"Huh? Why?"

"Wh-Whaddya mean, why?! I friggin attacked you, dude! I mean look at you!" She turned towards him fully and pushed his shoulder so he was facing her properly. "You're all roughed up and-" She caught sight of his other shoulder.

" **Oh, fuck!"**

Kris flinched away at such a sharp shift in volume. "W-what?!"

Kris's arm had been steadily bleeding into the surrounding fabric during Susie's story and while it had stopped some time ago, the wool absorbing it had made it look much bigger than it actually was. It contrasted with his jumper so brazenly that she only grew more upset that she hadn't noticed until now.

"No, let's not calm down! I have to get you to the hospital!"

"What?! No, get off!"

She went to slide an arm under his legs so she could carry him bridal style rather than her usual method. Thankfully for Kris, her attempts in being delicate meant she was slow enough to thwart as he pushed against her, sliding off the bench onto the ground. Picking someone up who did not want to leave the floor was a difficult enough task as it was and even Susie was having difficulty moving him from his new position as he squirmed this way and that, fending off her grabby hands.

"Would you hold still?!"

"Susie, I'm fine! Really!"

"No, you're not! I don't want you to die, you idiot!"

At any other time, Susie panicking that she had killed her only friend thanks to a lack of knowledge on human biology probably would've been cute. It still was, though he would only think so later on. For now, the genuine panic in her eyes with fresh tears painting her cheeks was more than enough to hold those thoughts off. It wasn't helping that her attempts to move him ended with her poking him in the ribs enough to tickle.

"Ahaha, I'm not dying, Susie!"

Exhausted by her efforts and from the weight of the evening itself, Susie let her hand fall on his chest. She shuddered as she looked him over again. Blinking dislodged a final tear, which slid down her snout before landing square on Kris's cheek.

"You'd better not be…"

His smile disappeared as he felt it. "Susie?"

She smiled down at him, eyes crinkled and watering, bright and gold against the sky above them. Her lips tilted into a very un-Susie'ish smile. Timid, tired, and with no trace of teeth to be seen. "You promised you wouldn't leave, remember?" A laugh forced her to double over slightly as her smile grew to its familiar size. "I'm pretty sure dying would count as leaving!"

"I won't. I don't break promises…"

He felt terrible the moment it left him, looking away from her like her gaze could scald. Confused, she shook him gently.

"Kris?" No response besides a mumble. She cottoned on quickly. "Hey, I get why you did it...I'm pretty sure I'd do the same if you started acting weird too"

"...Still...You trusted me..."

"I still do, dumbass!" she said, lightly punching his good shoulder as he moved back into a sitting position next to her. He winced ever so slightly but smiled immediately after.

"Good...But you have to trust me too"

"W-what?I do! I-"

"Why didn't you tell me? Maybe not ALL of it" he amended, catching her look. "I just….I want to help you. I'm okay if you lean on me sometimes Susie. I want you to"

"...Alright. I'll work on the trust thing…" she mumbled out. A thought struck her, forcing her to turn back towards him with a smirk. "Hey, hold on! That's not fair! You have to promise you'll rely on me too!"

"I thought I did! Back at the lake?"

She scoffed. "Yeah, but it's not official unless you say it, idiot!"

He laughed, holding up his hands placatingly as he dodged a noogie. "That's no fair. I'm keeping two promises and you only get one!"

"Alright smartass, I promise I won't leave you either! Now we're even!"

He smiled gingerly as he looked back up at her. "Thanks"

"Don't mention it…" she said, standing up. "C'mon, I'll walk ya home..."

He nodded absentmindedly, grabbing the hand offered to him and allowing her to hoist him up. For a moment, everything seemed right with the world again. Things weren't perfect, but with Susie, it felt pretty close.

Then his eyebrows shot up.

"Kris?"

"Shit! Mom's gonna kill me!"

o - o - o - o - o

"KRIS DREEMURR! WHAT TIME DO YOU CALL THIS?! YOU HAVE HAD ME WORRIED SICK! It is lovely to see you again, Susie. AND YOUR CLOTHES! IS THAT BLOOD?!"

Toriel certainly had words for them upon their return, though her 'shouting' was more theatrical than it was loud. It was well past his bedtime, and even Asriel had fallen prey to sleep by the time they finally reached his house. He certainly seemed to be making use of the fact that he had no deadlines for the time being. Considering they didn't really have any neighbors to speak of, he and Susie were probably the only reason Toriel wasn't breaking her decibel records.

They managed to convince her he had tripped and fell as they were exploring the woods, which was given credence from the sheer amount of mud and foliage still saturating his clothes. Mumbling to herself as she peeled off his jumper, Toriel inspected his wound before making for the first aid box while Susie coughed as she fumbled with the doorframe. Clenching the doorknob resolutely, she gave them what she hoped was a convincing grin.

"Alright...I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow, Kris!"

Toriel, none the wiser, wished her well. Kris looked like she had just slapped him. The hot air of the house rushed out as pulled the door open, making her wince as she remembered what she would be returning to. Kris, realising the same, panicked as he looked up at his mother.

"A-actually Mom, is it okay if Susie stays over?"

One foot out the door already, she froze in place.

"Well, I see no reason why not! Are you alright with sleeping on the sofa, Susie?"

"S-sure! If that's coo-okay!...I mean, with you"

"Wonderful! Kris. Go and get the spare blankets, would you?" she asked, turning to give Kris a somewhat knowing look before he reddened and made for the airing cupboard. "Oh! Will your parents be okay with you staying over, Susie?"

She coughed out a laugh as she closed the door, practically feeling Kris's cringe from down the hall. "Nah. They kinda let me do my own thing these days"

Once Kris brought the blankets out and Toriel had finally decided her bandaging was sufficient, she made up the sofa for Susie, who was still standing in the living room looking like she didn't quite know what to do with herself. A spare set of pyjamas was placed into her hands before she was directed to the bathroom to change. They seemed as warm and welcoming as their usual wearer, though she felt a little odd bearing the emblem on the front.

"G'night, Susie. See you in the morning", Kris managed to get out before Toriel shepherded him upstairs, leaving her in the warmth of the living room.

"Night" she called out after him. The click of his bedroom door seemed to finalise her situation as she stood in the centre of the room. The warm air seemed to fill it with a comfortable thickness that did nothing to help her stay awake. Looking back at the sofa, she smiled weakly before drawing back the cover.

Susie nestled into the thick blanket, breathing in the scent of dry cleaning mixed with the aroma of home cooking and fresh flowers that the house always seemed to have. She had never seen any flowers inside the house and always wondered how Toriel accomplished the feat. A kind of nervous energy rippled through her that might have kept her up for some time if she hadn't already been ready to nod off right then and there.

She didn't have to wait long before drifting off, her mind turning over the days' events lazily as she dipped in and out of sleep. One particular phrase stuck with her though, and she clenched the covers a little tighter as she gave in to the respite the house and its occupiers were providing.

Today was a good day.


End file.
